Category: GamerSushi News

Chrono Cross Game Blog Part IV: The First Disappointment Is The Worst Disappointment

Welcome back! When we last left our heroes, they were heading to Termina, the largest city on the El Nido archipelago. But to get there will require a brief journey through Fossil Valley, a place that sounds like a track from Mario Kart.

Turns out there are some soldiers who are excavating the area and apparently are in need of an exorcist? A few lies later and I am past the guards, who clearly have no idea what an exorcist looks like. PROTIP: They’re usually wearing a white collar and carry a crucifix. It seems there is a spooky howling noise and the soldiers want me, the alleged exorcist, to make it stop. Personally, it sounds like the wind to me, but maybe that is due to the limitations of the PS1’s sound card.

Walking up to a very large fossil of a dragon, when a skull bounces up to greet me. Suddenly, I wish I had done more drugs in my youth.The skull claims that he can tell Serge is dead, which is partially true, at least in this world. He wants me to help him find the rest of his body. Sounds like Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest but with slightly better graphics. How do I know this guy is on the up and up? Answer: I don’t, but what the hell else am I going to do right? It’s not like I’m stuck in a parallel dimension or anything, far away from home and my loved ones. So now I have a HEAVY SKULL. Jealous, much?
Continue reading Chrono Cross Game Blog Part IV: The First Disappointment Is The Worst Disappointment

Game Music Face Off!!! Halo 3 vs. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Time for some more juicy gaming music goodness. This week, we have the two biggest FPS franchises in the world, squaring off.

Less than an hour ago, I finally finished the fight and completed Halo 3. During my many runs of the final level, I came to know this song rather well, as it plays during the mad dash you make at the end. Through many retries, I finally managed to best it, but it wasn’t so bad because the music was kind of kick ass. An epic song that honestly was the part I liked most about that last level.

On the other hand, Modern Warfare 2, for all its heights and lows, has some pretty good music, too. Whenever this song plays before an online match, it gets me pretty pumped up. Crunchy metal guitars mixed with orchestral music? Count me in!

So which do you prefer out of these two songs?

Halo 3 – Greatest Journey
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34cGnonnTiA[/youtube]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Going Loud
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPj5iEoEIeY&feature=related[/youtube]

Which song do you prefer?

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FOX News Talks About Medal of Honor, is Surprisingly Even-Handed

There’s a new Medal of Honor coming out, and news has dropped that in the multiplayer segment of the game, one side will take on the role of the Taliban. Naturally, this sort of “ripped from today’s headlines” type of story is a natural fit for FOX News, which previously treated gamers with a fair and un-biased look at the sex scene in Mass Effect. Sarcasm aside, this time around the FOX News anchor actually played the devil’s advocate for EA and Danger Close Games, the developers of Medal Of Honor. The segment’s guest, a mother who had lost her son in the current conflict came on to say that treating modern events like a game does a diservice to those who have died in uniform. I’ll let you watch the interview and decide for yourselves.

Now, I’m not one for censorship, and the anchor is correct, someone always has to be the bad guy. Unfortunately, the bad guy in this case is one of the most violent and dangerous terror groups in recent history. On the other hand, playing as the Taliban is confined to multiplayer, and games like Call of Duty and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 give you the option to gun down virtual American troops as well. There are multiple sides to this issue, but I want to know what you guys think. Is it wrong for EA to allow players to play as the Taliban? Is it any different than playing as a similarly themed, but differently named, terrorist faction in other first person shooters?

GamerSushi Asks: Where Do You Get Your News, Reviews and Previews?

As much as we might like to imagine it, we here at GamerSushi can’t always supply you guys with reviews of all the latest games or previews of anything that we didn’t download as a demo. And most of our news is culled from other sites, though carefully chosen so you get only the coolest stuff here.

And we aren’t naive enough to think that you don’t visit other sites. It’s okay, we see other people, too. We have a nice open relationship and I think it’s working out for everyone involved. And unlike the ones in college, this sort of open relationship is less likely to cause emotional trauma (Although, watch out for IGN’s Insane-O Ads; those things could slow down Skynet).

So that leaves the question: where do you get your gaming news? What sites or magazines do you trust the most for reviews and previews? Are there any that you refuse to visit, perhaps due to a past experience? Go!

Gaming Journalism Needs To Grow Up

GamePro has a great article that gets to the heart of an issue that I have been stewing about for quite some time: the quality of games journalism. Oftentimes, it seems that it consists of previews, reviews and industry news. There is very little investigative reporting, unless you count interviewing a voice actor as investigating and almost no follow-up once a game has been released, unless it is a buggy mess.

Publishers use journalists to get the story they want out there and if you don’t cooperate, they will just limit your access and all of sudden you will find yourself being the only website in the world not having a preview or early review of the latest and hottest game.

This article goes into details about a few issues facing reporters these days and I think it is worth reading. Reporters are not there to cheer or advocate for their favorite games or consoles, that should be clear.

What do you think can be done to improve the state of gaming journalism? Do you even think there is a problem?

Source: GamePro

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Trailer is Double Elbow all the Way

We’ve seen a few CGI trailers for Deus Ex so far, but nothing that remotely resembles gameplay. A lot of you are probably wondering how the game looks when it’s running in-engine, and Square Enix has put out a new trailer to quiet your inquiries. This new video blends cutscenes and in-game action, and it looks pretty slick if really, really golden. Seriously, they need to get some white lights in this city.

Looks like we’ll be able to do all the stuff promised in the first trailer, such as neck-snapping through walls and turning invisible. Also, any game that features transforming gun-arms are OK in my book. What do you guys think of Deus Ex? Now that you’ve seen some gameplay, are you excited?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 7: Rage Quitting the Cast

Rage QuitAnd we’re back!

We’ve been on break with the GamerSushi podcast for several weeks now because I was on vacation in the land of Florida, drinking orange juice and sunshine and visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As soon as we got a chance this week, we all sat down and recorded a new edition of the show.

In this episode, we talk about a number of things including Limbo, pirating video games and the idea of rage quitting. It clocks in at right around an hour and forty minutes, and I think it’s a good time. Unfortunately, something went wrong with our connection, so the last twenty minutes or so has some audio glitches, but it’s nothing that breaks the podcast. We actually recorded this a few days ago, but since I’ve been lazy it’s not going up until now.

As always, please go rate this cast on iTunes and subscribe with the handy links to the right. Enjoy!
Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 7: Rage Quitting the Cast

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StarCraft II Victim of Pirate Rush: Downloaded Illegally Over 260,000 Times

starcraft_2_logoAs you may have heard, a little known franchise called StarCraft returned from obscurity this past week, shocking everyone in the world by selling 721,000 copies in its first week according to the NPD numbers. Surely this unexpected bonanza will lift Activision-Blizzard from the depths of poverty in which they had lain for so long.

What may or may not shock you, depending on your depth of reality, is that StarCraft II is also the most pirated game of the year. Probably. I mean, no one has bothered to check the figures on APB, but I doubt they come close.

According to TorrentFreak, the rampant pirates of the Internet have illegally downloaded StarCraft II 260,000 times, with 50,000 people sharing the game at one time on BitTorrent. Now, you may call me naive, but I tend to think that this isn’t the same few people downloading and redownloading the game over and over. No, call me cynical, but I think these are all unique users.

Now, despite my earlier sarcasm, we all know that StarCraft II is one of the most anticipated games of all time. So, keeping that in mind…wouldn’t you just save up some money and buy it? I mean, you know it’s coming out, it’s not like they kept it a secret or anything.

How does this make you feel? I know, I know, most of these people will buy it once they verify that the OVERWHELMINGLY positive reviews are not giant balls of deceit, but I still can’t help but feel angry on behalf of the people who worked for years on this game, only to have some dude with a broadband connection decide he (or she; I’m not sexist) doesn’t have to pay money for it.

We actually talked about this very subject in the new podcast you must listen to right this second, regarding the game Machinarium, which was also a victim of massive piracy.

What do you guys think? Did you buy StarCraft II? Does it make you angry that some people choose not to play by the rules?

Source: TorrentFreak

Scott Pilgrim Brings The Retro Gaming Easter Eggs

As some of you may be aware, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is set to come out in theaters tomorrow. For those of you who have not seen the preview, I urge you to google it right the hell now. If you like video games, you will, at the very least, be amused by the trailer.

The movie is based on a graphic novel, which contains tons of references to old school games, some so old that I had forgotten about them completely until now. Our good friends at GamesRadar put together a nifty little list of them and I thought it might be fun to share it with you guys.

Personally, the River City Ransom “BARF” and the coins dropping are my favorites. I’ve always had a soft spot for that game, ever since I first read about it in Nintendo Power back in the 80s. What references did you think were cool? Are you planning on seeing the movie?

BARF! I mean, GO!

Source: GamesRadar

GamerSushi Poll: Which Do You Think Will Sell Better: Move or Kinect?

We are about a month away from the launch of Sony’s Playstation Move and in November, Microsoft will release Kinect. The two devices, rather than being similar, are actually quite different and seem to cater to two different mindsets of gamers out there.

Personally, I’m not looking seriously at buying either one of them, but if I had to choose, I think Move has that hardcore edge I would be looking for. Plus, I like buttons and I’m lazy.That being said, I think Kinect will outsell Move by a wide margin. The money of Microsoft and the allure of something so high tech will trap the casual game market more so than the precision that Move seems to offer.

So my question is…

Which do you think will sell more units?

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The Debut of Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock is ditching the seas and heading to the clouds. We’ve known for some time that the original Bioshock developers, Irrational Games, have been working on a super secret project. There were even rumors of it involving the skies. But nobody could have guessed that they were working on a new Bioshock title that changes the locale of the conflict from the underwater realm of Rapture to the sky fortress known as Columbia.

Bioshock Infinite takes place in the early 1900s, when American imperialism was at an all time high and years before the construction of Rapture in the 1940s. Whether or not this is going to be considered an official prequel to the other two games, or if it’s just taking the role as a spiritual successor to them remains to be seen, but from the trailer it’s easy to tell that we are going to be dealing with the same themes of power, utopia and control. The city of Columbia is perched atop flying airships and great huge balloons, and it is gorgeous and fascinating to look at.

It’s no secret that I was not grabbed by the first Bioshock game, but the new Bioshock Infinite trailer and its setting have me itching to see more… but unfortunately, it doesn’t release until 2012. I guess that gives me plenty of time to go back and finish the original. What do you guys think of all of this?

Also, go ahead and get your “Skyoshock” jokes out of the way in 3…2…1…

Gaming Is…

Kevin ButlerOne of my favorite things out of Sony in the last decade is Kevin Butler, their fake marketing persona that they’ve been using to promote their gaming division. His commercials are awesome, and they’ve won over a place in my heart with them. If you were one of the many blessed individuals that watched Kevin Butler’s E3 rant about what gaming is, then you know what I’m talking about.

Well, yesterday on Kevin Butler’s Twitter, he (or whatever intern Sony pays to manage the account) held a callback to that wonderful monologue, asking users to tweet about what gaming is to them. The results were pretty spectacular, to say the least, and it was great fun to read. Here are a few excerpts:

#gamingis knowing more friends by names like “AwesomeSauce” and “PallyofDeath” than by “Karen” and “Bob”.

#gamingis another ten minutes that takes three hours.

#gamingis displaying your rage-smashed controller in a Ziploc bag as a reminder to not break the new one.

We added one of our own with the following tweet: #gamingis sitting in front of your TV for eight hours and still claiming to be productive.

All of the responses were great, so I thought I’d bring what happened on Twitter yesterday here to GamerSushi. What is gaming to you? Feel free to be serious or as ludicrous as you want. Go!

Time Crisis Starring Spartacus

Freddie Wong is kind of my personal hero right now. Over the past few weeks, he’s made some awesome shorts dedicated to all-out gunfights; most of them poking fun at video games, such as his “Aimbot” piece. His new weekly offering takes us back to the arcade days of our youth, where Time Crisis gobbled up quarters faster than a broken vending machine. It also doesn’t hurt that Andy Whitfield, Spartacus himself, has taken up the second gun. Take a look:

Kind of awesome in my opinion. Also, Spartacus is kind of a recent obsession for my friends and I, so seeing Mr. Whitfield was pretty cool. What did you guys think of the video?

A Theory I Must Test To Keep My Sanity

Huh.

Sometimes you crazy lot of gamers surprise me. This happens in all kinds of ways. But nothing could prepare me for the Pokemon fest that happened in the top 10 bestsellers of 2010 thread the other day. I honestly had no idea that we had any Pokemon lovers in our ranks besides Mitch. Now I have to know if it’s more widespread or not.

Let’s find out.

I would like to make it known that I have nothing against Pokemon or its many (apparently) millions of adoring and crazed fans. I’m sure I would have loved it if I played it when I was 8, too. Did you see what I just did there? How I just burned all the Pokemon lovers? Get back at me by winning this thing.

Pokemon sucks

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Today’s WTF: Meet You at the Corner of North and North

We often joke around here that Nolan North is in too many video games, but we’ve never actually experienced the phenomenon of “Mr. Uncharted” talking to himself…until now. Mafia 2, which is due to be released on August 24 in North America, plays host to this slight against humanity. Watch the following video to witness Nolan North talking to Nolan North.

Obviously, this is randomly generated dialogue and the chances of this happening in your game are slim to none (hopefully), but someone should really be fired for this. And Nolan, we get that you’re a great voice actor, but you might have wanted to change your delivery a little if you’re acting as a fat gangster. Just saying.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Dev Diary is Heavy on Melodrama

Coming out just one short year after my official Game of Forever, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (or Assassin’s Creed: ODST as it is nicknamed around these parts) tells the story of Ezio’s formation of the Assassin Order after his victory in the second game. According to the video, this game is all about Ezio’s evolution as an assassin and his journey into the next part of his life. The game is focused entirely around the city of Rome, which players visited for a short time in Assassin’s Creed 2. Give the diary a watch, why don’t you:

While I’m a bit worried about the short turn around between two and this one, the developers speaking in the video clearly recognize how well received their previous game was, and are striving to keep that level of quality. On another note, those are some really awesome hoodies the dev team are wearing. What do you guys think? Is Brotherhood on your radar?

EVE Online Pirates Destroy In-Game Time Cards

EVE ONLINEEvery time I read about a bad-ass heist job in EVE Online, a space-bound MMO focused on corporate back-stabbing, I find myself gripped with the insatiable urge to try the game. I’ve heard that for the most part it’s pretty dull and is kind of like having a second job, but these stories just scratch some odd gaming itch I never knew that I had.

Take this most recent tale, for example. To combat the online sale of ISK (EVE’s currency) by gold farmers, publisher CCP decided to create in-game time cards which can be sold for ISK, thus cutting gold farmers out of the loop by allowing players to trade time extension cards for cash. These cards, called PLEX, or Pilot License Extensions, recently became actual items inside of EVE’s servers so they could be carried around by cargo ships. While this sounds like a recipe for disaster, I don’t think anyone was prepared for what happened next.

A cargo ship owned by Method of Destruction, a player run guild, was carrying 74 PLEX cards while making its way through a sector of space that’s apparently rife with pirate activity when it was beset upon by a couple of enterprising raiders. Unfortunately for the pair, they were a little over-zealous and destroyed the cargo ship along with all 74 cards. You may be asking yourself what this amount of cards is worth, and the answer is a staggering $1,295.00 in actual US funds. In game, that would be 22 billion ISK, or six years and two months of play time. Since the licenses were blown up they can never be claimed, so CCP just made themselves a cool profit thanks to two trigger-happy bandits.

What do you guys think of this news? Pretty awesome that there’s a game out there that allows, nay encourages, this type of tomfoolery. What do you think CCP should do with the $1,295.00? People are calling for them to donate it to charity, so do you agree? Tell us in the comments. To read about the previous EVE Online raid, click here.

Source: Kotaku via Massively

Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Many of you may remember our Call of Duty: World at War review, which was written by a friend (and GS user) named Sean. Sean has stepped up to the plate again and offered to write us a guest review for Super Mario Galaxy 2! Enjoy!

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Super Mario Galaxy 2 YoshiAfter Super Mario 64 came out, to me the Super Mario series has never had the same fun-factor as it did with that groundbreaking and stunning game. From Paper Mario to Sunshine, nothing really could compare in the level complexity and 3D world fun. Well, out came a new line of Mario games titled “Galaxy” with motion control and a new spin on the Mario 64 levels. After Super Mario Galaxy, we are given a whole new experience with Super Mario Galaxy 2, but what exactly does this game have to offer?

Here you are, it’s the 100 year festival in the mushroom kingdom, starbits are raining from the sky, Toads are everywhere, disaster has struck and King Bowser has stolen the princess from the castle and taken her deep into space! As the hero, Mario, it is up to you to take off after your beloved Peach and battle to the center of the universe to rescue your princess! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s pretty much the exact same opening as it was in the first installment, Super Mario Galaxy.

Continue reading Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Space Combat for The Old Republic Explained

TORStar Wars: The Old Republic is number one on my list for upcoming PC releases, doubly so because it has the delicious flavor of a BioWare Star Wars game and an MMO rolled in to one. I know that there was a Star Wars MMO previously, but that was Galaxies by Sony Online Entertainment, and my therapist has advised me not to speak of that relationship. Regardless of how Galaxies was handled, one of the few things SOE did well was the space combat, taking away the turn-based dance endemic to MMORPG ground combat and making a more twitch-based system that resembled the X-Wing games of yore. Before the special ships were introduced and ruined the space combat with their ability to stock the highest grade equipment, blasting around between the planets was great fun. Star Wars just isn’t Star Wars without extra-planetary combat, and it seems that BioWare feels the same way.

MMO mega-site Massively (via the upcoming October issue of PC Gamer) reports that the space segments of The Old Republic will be “tunnel-based” as opposed to the free-form combat of its predecessors. If you’re having trouble picturing this sort of gameplay, think StarFox 64 or the old Rebel Assault titles. BioWare is apparently doing this to create a “cinematic” feel for players. I’ll reserve my judgment until I play the game itself, but I’d rather see a X-Wing vs TIE Fighter scenario. Massively does mention achievements, though, so I’ll be easier to mollify if that’s the case.

What do you guys think about this? Down for some rail-shooting, or do you hope BioWare will break out the combat for the inevitable PVP arenas?

Source: Massivley

Current Top 10 Selling Games of 2010

PokemonMaybe you haven’t noticed yet, but 2010 is almost over. Yes, for serious. While in most gaming years this might not be anything to take special note of, Modern Warfare 2’s release in 2009 ensured that we’ve had the kind of gaming we’ve always dreamed of, spread out over this current trip around the sun. I honestly can’t remember the last time we’ve had this many great titles to play before September, and maybe there’s never been another year like it.

Because there’s lots to play, there’s clearly a lot of people purchasing games. Yahoo has just released a list of the top 10 selling games of 2010 so far, and you might actually be surprised by a few of the results. Or maybe you are awesome, and you totally will predict everything on the list.

Anyway, feel free to hit the jump to see the full list of best sellers. Because I’m nice like that.

Continue reading Current Top 10 Selling Games of 2010