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?
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
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?
Every 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:
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
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.
I initially fought the urge to post this trailer without thinking, but a viewing of this wonderful piece of gaming hype has affirmed that I should never doubt my gut feelings. While the video is pre-rendered, it does give some indication that the final product will feature Gears of War-style cover mechanics and it has Peter Cullen voicing Optimus Prime, so what else do you want? I defy you to watch this trailer and not get excited about the game. Is the era of good licensed titles finally upon us? While we’ll have to wait until June 22 to find out, all signs are pointing to yes.
Thoughts?
There’s not really any other way to say it. The new Final Fantasy XIII International trailer is a music video, set to some pretty cheesy music, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome in my mind.
The new video showcases tons of footage, some seen and some new, of cut scenes, battles and general action that really make me want this game something awful. The official release is on March 9, 2010, and it can’t come soon enough as far as my money’s concerned.
Who else is picking this game up?
With all this talk of overrated and underrated games, I thought it would be nice if we started talking about franchises that have been left behind by the current generation of consoles. We all have those games that we love and that deserve a sequel, but it never occurs. Year after year goes by with nothing to be heard about our forgotten games…*tear*
Personally, I can’t believe that Square never did more with the Chrono Trigger series. Sure, Chrono Cross was a pseudo-sequel, but the less said about it, the better. Syphon Filter was a popular series back in the PS1 days and aside from some silly PSP offerings, I don’t think anyone has mentioned it in a long time. If you want to blow someone’s mind, mention Panzer Dragoon. That game was responsible for selling systems back in the day.
What games do you think have been wrongfully left behind? What would you like to see get a revival, whether it’s a reboot or a sequel?
Man, after the huge amount of response we got to the thread about overrated video games, I figured we were just about begging to get this follow-up. I’d love to see something similar happen here as well.
Basically, I want to know what you guys think are the most underrated games out there. Games that for some reason or another seem to get overlooked by either gamers or the media on the whole. Or perhaps they weren’t overlooked, but just discounted outright or given an unnecessary amount of undue hatred.
For me, I have to say that Suikoden III doesn’t really get the praise I think it deserved as one of the best RPGs of the last generation. In this generation, Saint’s Row 2 was largely ignored in light of Grand Theft Auto IV, when it was probably a better spiritual successor to the series than GTA 4 was, even. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand was a great shooter that more people definitely needed to play. Likewise, Viva Pinata was another underrated game still that got shoved under the rug because it appeared to be a kid game.
So what about you guys? What do you think are the most underrated games?
Being an avid gamer, I’ve seen lots of trailers. Some of these trailers are good and really get me excited about a game. Some of them don’t do so great a job at showcasing what the game is about and hence don’t grab my attention. Then there’s trailers like the new Naughty Bear trailer, from Artificial Mind and Movement.
I’m not really sure what to say about this one, so I’ll just let you watch it. But count me interested in what comes next, that’s for sure.
We’ve got one more top something of 2009 list for you, but this time it’s a little different as it’s not some publication doling out their “best-of” awards, but rather a unique compilation decided entirely by you the player. Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb recently posted the chart-topping games of 2009 as tracked by X-Box LIVE, and it may surprise you to learn that Halo 3 has once again taken the top spot three years running with Call of Duty 4 riding its coat-tails and Modern Warfare 2 in third.
I know you’re going to say that MW2 was only released on November 11 of this year, and I’m sure that future metrics will show the widely acclaimed First-Person-Shooter rocketing into the lead and leaving Bungie’s mean green machine in its dust. I just think it’s amazing that Halo 3 continues to lead the charts even though it’s beginning to get a bit long in the tooth. If it’s any consolation, Call of Duty titles fill out the remainder of the top four.
The charts also list the most popular Arcade titles (Battlefield 1943) and the most-played original X-Box titles (Halo 2). How do you think 2010 is going to break down? My bet is MW2 will clinch the top spot then fight with Bad Company 2 until Reach comes out.
Source: Major Nelson
This one’s sure to start an interesting comment thread, I think.
Over the weekend, I picked up Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which contains both DLC expansions for Grand Theft Auto IV, considered to be one of the best games released in 2008. While I wasn’t crazy about the game back when it came out, I thought I would give it another shot because of the great things I’m hearing about the Ballad of Gay Tony, the second of the two downloadable episodes.
I decided to play Lost and the Damned first, knowing full well that if I played BoGT first, I would never go back to L&D since it is rumored to be inferior. The game opened up and within a few minutes I was shocked by a couple of things. In particular, the writing is what has taken me back the most. While writing is generally pretty good in GTA, L&D just screamed out cliches and inconsistencies. One minute, Jonny is saying he’s too old to do the biker thing and urges the others to settle down, and the next minute he’s leading the chase to go kill some police officers. It doesn’t help that the voice actor is awful, either.
Playing this game reminded me of all the things I disliked about GTA IV. The driving, the shooting, the control scheme, watching cut scenes and then driving to x to kill y… all of it. I still can’t believe how overrated this game was for the time, and having played better open world games since then (Assassin’s Creed 2, I’m looking at you) just makes the flaws all the more visible. I know that many people love this game, but I’m just not seeing it. I’m declaring it to be on my list of what I consider to be one of the most overrated games of all time.
So what about you guys? What games do you think are ridiculously overrated? Go!
Like it or lump it, there’s no denying that one of 2010’s biggest titles will be Halo: Reach, Bungie’s (supposed) final game in the Halo series. The next issue of Game Informer was confirmed last week to include a bunch of new information on the upcoming sci-fi shooter, and some kind soul has seen fit to scan an advanced copy onto the internet. The scans are fairly clear considering that they’re straight off a magazine, and I have to say that the game is looking sharp. The infamous “ugly-people” produced by the Halo 3 engine are gone, and the marines in Reach look like actual futuristic grunts as opposed to cartoon characters. Speaking of Grunts, the Covenant species have been given a face-lift and there’s one new type of enemy confirmed, a Jackal look-alike of some sorts.
The article expands upon the setting and the various characters and there’s a lot of info for Halo canon nerds (like myself) to obsess over. Go check out the scans and tell us you thoughts!
Source: All Games Beta
Wow. You all know of my mega-boners that I get for Splinter Cell. Specifically, co-operative play in the Splinter Cell franchise is something that I will go off on a rant about, because of how much I loved the mode in Chaos Theory. Well, they’re bringing the mode back in Splinter Cell: Conviction, and I couldn’t be happier.
Up until now, all we’d gotten to see was a slick trailer for the mode. Now, though, we’re getting to see honest-to-goodness footage of the co-operative mode, in addition to Deniable Ops, which is more of an adversarial multiplayer in some ways. The coolest mode from Deniable Ops seems to be the “Spy vs Spy” gametype, where two players showdown in the midst of hostile enemy AI guards. The thought of that makes me a tad crazy, in the best way possible. Anyway, check out the new video and leave your thoughts.
Splinter Cell: Conviction is out on February 23rd, 2010. Anybody else jumping on this?
I want those souls.
This thought runs through my head over and over as I eat my dinner, barely focusing on the food before me. My thoughts are filled with the bloodstain chock-full of souls I left splattered in the middle of the Boletarian Castle, surrounded by demon warriors just waiting for me return for them.
I need those souls back.
Demon’s Souls is the new action-RPG from Atlus and it is not for the faint of heart. If Halo ever frustrated you with the Library, then you are not ready for Demon’s Souls. This game makes the Library look like World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. The concept of the game is that you are a warrior who decides to try to lift the darkness from the world by defeating the evil demon lords who rule it. Or something like that. The story, though well-written and voice-acted, is barely there. It’s simply an excuse to throw you into hell and watch you claw your way out.
The game is played in a 3rd-person perspective and at the start you create a character and choose one of several classes to start with, but fear not: you are not constricted in anyway by what class you choose. You can start off as a mage and never learn another magic spell if you desire and become a powerful melee warrior. The choice is up to you. The classes merely determine how your initial stat points are distributed. It’s up to you how you want to distribute them, one point at a time.
Which leads to how you improve your character. Now, let me preface this by saying that you don’t have to level up a single time. You can literally play the entire game with the stats you start with, from start to finish, and defeat the final boss as such. God help whoever does that, because I expect you will be doing about 1 HP of damage to said boss per attack, so I hope you don’t have to go to the bathroom because you can’t pause Demon’s Souls. Ever. At all. Just warning you..
Now, when you defeat an enemy you gain souls. Some enemies give you as little as 8 souls, some as much as 2000. It just varies on the strength of the foe you have vanquished. Souls are used as both experience and currency. Want to level up your character’s HP? Get some souls. Want to buy a better sword or upgrade it? Get some souls. Need arrows or healing items? (And you will) Get some souls. Magic spell in the shop caught your eye? You guessed it…souls. The fun part is that the amount you need to raise your attributes increases every time you do so don’t expect to grind your stats and simply overpower the game because you will likely go insane first.
When the game starts, you find yourself in a brief tutorial area, which ends with you getting pwned by a giant boss. Your souls goes to the Nexus, which is the hub of the game. Here you level up, buy weapons and spells and pick which area you want to go to next. There are 5 worlds, each one having a few sections in them and once you defeat the first area, you are free to explore as you wish. I recommend doing so, as some great items can be found in different areas if you look hard enough. When in soul form, your health is cut in half, although a ring you find near the start brings this up by 25%. As a bonus, you do more damage in soul form, which is fine because you will spend most of the game in soul form. In order to get your body back, you must defeat the area’s boss or use a rare item. Generally, beating the boss is the best option.
When going through a level, in soul or in body form, when you die (Notice I said WHEN, not IF) you will return to the Nexus with all of your equipment and items, but you lose your souls. So if you had about 3000 souls and didn’t return to the Nexus to spend them, they are gone. Unless…you manage to fight your way back to the place you died and touch the bloodstain you left. If you can do so, you get your souls back. If you die on the way, those souls are gone forever. Now, since enemies respawn every time you return to the Nexus, you can always fight more demons, but you run the risk of doing what I did the other night, which is play for an hour and a half only to lose all my souls and have nothing to show for my wasted time. Being overconfident and not focusing on the battle at hand has led to many a lost batch of souls.
So why does such a game, which reeks of repetition, which I revile, appeal to me so much? Namely, thanks to the combat, which is so spot on, that when I die, I know it was MY fault. I mistimed a parry or didn’t watch my stamina bar close enough. There are NO cheap deaths here. The enemies all have distinct patterns and it is a matter if simply being observant and quick. When you see an opening, don’t hesitate or you will regret it. I got more of a rush playing Demon’s Souls than any game since the original God of War. When you slice through katana-wielding lizardmen like a hot knife through butter, you know it was complete skill that won the day for you and that feeling is addictive.
Demon’s Souls also boasts the most unique online system I have ever seen. As you play, you sometimes see blue specters running around. Those are other people playing the game right at that moment, at that spot. You are always connected to the servers, unless you sign out of PSN, but I would not play any other way. There are also messages, short and tweet-like, that players can leave for one another. Some give hints such as, “There is a treasure up ahead” or “The next enemy is weak against fire”. Such messages can be a life-saver, as one instructed me not to bother with a shield, which was sage advice because if I had tried to block the ensuing attack with my shield, I would have died. And if messages are helpful, you can give them a thumbs-up, which heals the person who left the message, wherever they are. This can be a great boon when you are in trouble and suddenly you are notified that someone liked your message and your health fills. It creates a great sense of community, of us against this harsh game world, and it truly adds a layer of awesome to the whole thing.
If you are having trouble and are in body form, you can drop a blue stone and pull someone in the same level who is in soul form into your game and suddenly, Demon’s Souls is a co-op game! Together you can defeat the boss of the area and then the soul form player returns to his game. The soul form player must also drop a similar stone, so don’t worry that you may get pulled out against your will. But there is a more sinister aspect of this: another player can invade your game if in soul form and attempt to kill you! If they do, they get their body back. Imagine the terror of seeing a message that states, “Black Phantom Starkiller81 has invaded your realm!” and knowing that there is another human being walking around your level, waiting for you to be hip-deep in demons before plunging a knife in your back. Talk about survival horror! Dead Space and Resident Evil can’t compete with that kind of tension.
One thing I want to mention that adds to the difficulty is the fact that you can’t manually save the game. Demon’s Souls auto-saves almost constantly, so if you think you are going to simply reload your last save and recover your souls, you got another thing coming.
The graphics and music are also very well done and coupled with the tight controls that never fail you make for a game like no other I have ever played. Except for the extreme difficulty of the game, there is not one bad thing I can say about it. Demon’s Souls is one game that no hardcore player can afford to miss out on. You will curse and gnash your teeth, but you will dive right back in again and again until the last demon is slain. For Christmas this year, I received Demon’s Souls, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2 and I have been playing a little bit of each waiting for one of them to really hook me. It has finally happened because for the last 4 days, I have been on a straight Demon’s Souls bender and there is no end in sight. I can’t recommend this game enough, one of the best of the year.
GamerSushi Score:
How does our grading system work? Check out our grade chart!
OK dudes, we talked about this stinking forever ago, but we’re finally doing the deed tomorrow afternoon. Let’s all hook up for some cool time playing some games together, in what is hopefully the first of many such occasions.
For our first community function, we’ll be playing either Halo 3 or Modern Warfare 2, depending on what more of you guys have. We’ll be playing tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 PM CST, so check to see what time that is for you. And for you PC or PS3 dudes, don’t worry, we’ll be doing more of these soon. The idea right now is to do a PC one some time next week, with a PS3 one in the near future.
So here’s how this is going to work. Leave your gamertag here along with which of the games you have. Tomorrow, either Mitch or I will add you and then invite you to a game that we set up at 2:30 PM CST. I’d say just to go ahead and send me a friend request, but that could just get chaotic as I have to clear some room out first. Rest assured that once I play with you I will more than likely leave you on it (since you’re from GamerSushi), unless you are a total jerk. If it turns out we get way too many people, we’ll just set up another day for the ones that don’t make it in to the best of our ability.
If you are a PC or PS3 person, we’ll have a new topic up soon for you guys to sign in on and we’ll decide there what games we’re playing and when. Let’s do this!
Now that 2009 has ended, it seems that everybody and their moms are coming up with “best of the decade” lists, whether it’s sports, movies or games. We’ve got some ideas of our own regarding this, though we’re letting things marinate like a juicy steak before we let you dudes start biting into it. OK, that analogy got a tad weird at the end.
Anyway, the A.V. Club has posted what it believes to be the best games of the 00’s, and as such has listed 15 games that progressed the medium. The list is actually remarkably well put together, and includes some great titles that you honestly don’t see in too many places, such as Advance Wars for the DS and Katamari Damacy.
While I’m not the hugest fan of Bioshock as the number 1 title, I can see why so many hold it in high esteem, though it seems a bit repetitive to include it along with Fallout 3. Aren’t they largely similar? Feel free to flame me if I’m wrong, as I couldn’t really finish either.
What do you think of this list, and what’s your game of the decade? Go!
Source- A.V. Club
We’ve all worked our butt off for something that turned out to so not be worth it in the end. Shoveling the driveway, being nice to your parents, school, these are all things that have no tangible benefit in the long run. Nothing is more notorious for this than video games though. Whether you’re scampering across rooftops or desperately trying to get 100% on a game you don’t really like, gaming unlocks can be the biggest time-sink. Our list of the six worst offenders are below (Oh, and potential spoilers):
#1: Auditore Cape, Assassin’s Creed II
While the first Assassin’s Creed will go down in infamy for the multitude of useless collectible flags scattered across the Holy Land, Assassin’s Creed II deserves this spot for a different reason. The 100 feathers that you can collect along your Renaissance adventure seem like they’re actually leading somewhere, especially when you reach the half-way mark and you get the second best weapon in the game, the Condottiero hammer.
After hours of searching for the damnable leavings of the eagles, you return to your villa and deposit them in the box for the last time to receive…a hug. Then, your mother presents you with the cape and thanks you for not forgetting her. Ding, achievement unlocked, and we have a sweet piece of cloth to show for it. What does the cape do, though? Does it prevent fall damage, or something useful along those lines? No, it does the exact opposite of every other cape you earned for doing nothing. It makes you instantly notorious in every city in the game except for your villa. Thanks, Mom, so glad that all those archer’s families will wonder where their father went because he interfered with my search.
Continue reading Top Six: Gaming’s Worst Unlocks
Have you ever tried to tell a non-gamer that you are playing Final Fantasy (insert random number here), only to have them reply with the stupid joke “guess the other ones weren’t so final”? Because that has happened to me more times than I can count, honestly. Well, it looks like that dumb remark might actually find its punchline with Final Fantasy XIII, in a sense.
Square Enix head dude Yoichi Wada said in an interview today that Final Fantasy XIII could mark the end of an era, and that whether or not the franchise will continue its current format “remains to be seen.” Apparently, the team might move on to bigger and better things, including “next generation” play styles to hit a new audience. I’m not entirely certain what that means, but I’ve got a couple of guesses: namely that “a new audience” is not-so-subtle code for “Westerners”, and the new “play styles” they mention could involve motion controls or FPS/action games.
I’m not suggesting an FF FPS, but that Square might move into a genre they think is more suitable to broadening their core buyers. Regardless of what it entails, I do have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, I love JRPG’s and their emphasis on grand stories and gorgeous art. On the other hand, the formula is stale (though FF does it best) and might need a shot in the arm.
What do you guys make of this news?
Source- Shacknews
Boom shaka-laka! He’s on fire!
If anyone knows those words, then they will be excited to hear one of the newest rumors circulating around the video game realm this week. Namely, that NBA Jam is getting revived by EA Sports for an exclusive Wii title. That’s right, the Midway classic that we played in arcades and on our SNES or Sega Genesis are getting the Frankenstein treatment, coming back to us in the year of our Lord 2010. Allegedly.
While details right now are scarce, it seems that there is a pending announcement that could hit later this month. I’m not sure if you guys ever even played this game, but it ranks among my top sports games of all time, and probably as the greatest basketball title that I can remember playing. I loved getting on fire and doing the crazy make-your-opponents-weep kind of dunks to get absurd scores by game’s end. Even though I don’t have a Wii, I seriously can’t wait to see how this turns out.
Does anyone else remember playing this game?
Source- VG247
