Archive for April, 2009
Review: Galaga Legions (XBLA)
Apr 23rd
It’s an arcade gamer’s perfect storm: A beautiful marriage of finely hewn, old-school arcade gaming blended with modern graphical pizazz and dizzying swarms of bright lights. It’s the inspired result of Namco Bandai’s crack team of classic franchise revivalists. It’s just about perfect — but it’s not for everyone.
Daily Recap: April 22, 2009
Apr 22nd
Because my snark is running low as of this writing, let me take this introductory opportunity to tell you what’s dropping on our site for the remainder of the week.
Coming tomorrow is our hands-on overview of the new Nintendo DSi system. To be clear, the purpose of an overview is to be less like a review–instead of making recommendations on the overall value of the product, we’re simply providing our readership with an introduction to it. We’ll still offer our crystal-clear opinions backed-up with facts, but the final purchasing decision is up to you, as always. Also on the way tomorrow is a review of Xbox Live Arcade title Galaga Legions.
Friday we’ll be reviewing the new Left 4 Dead DLC pack with its hectic and horrific Survival Mode. Can we last more than two minutes? Doubtful.
Next Tuesday’s big post is a “cooperative” review of Resident Evil 5 between Nick and me. This review has been a long time coming, and we look forward to adding our special co-op-centric commentary into the structure of our usual, trusty reviews.
Now, onto the news…and some awesome poster art.
Review: Prince of Persia Epilogue DLC (Xbox Live)
Apr 21st
Last year’s Prince of Persia was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Fans of the series’ earlier games often dismissed it out of hand as an oversimplified, brain-dead rehash of a platforming game, and a pale shadow of the franchise’s former glory.
Frankly, they don’t know what they’re missing. Prince of Persia was designed to be an enjoyable experience from start to finish, and for my money, it delivered almost flawlessly. What it lacked in precision platforming and twitch-reflex combat it more than made up for with simple (but not oversimplified) controls and a rhythmic balance between tense combat and laid-back, serene exploration sequences. It may not have appealed to everyone, but it was precisely what I had hoped for.
And that’s what makes the epilogue so baffling. It tries to appeal to both the game’s fans and its harshest critics, and what resulted is…well, a bit of a mystery.
Daily Recap: April 21, 2009
Apr 21st
Another bright, hot day in Portland, Oregon. I mean, I love blue skies, but the true Oregonian in me screams for rain and gray. I’m weird; I realize that.
The gaming world was flooded with mostly release-date related news and a few droplets of real information, all of which you can read on the next page. Click that link! Read the rest of this entry »
Daily Recap: April 20, 2009
Apr 20th
I promise, my only Lolcat-related image ever.
Today was 4/20. The irony is not lost on me that during this “holiday” I neither sold nor purchased pot in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. It just wasn’t in demand, yo. Read the rest of this entry »
The Backlog, Vol. 2 – “Oh hey, is that the sun?” edition
Apr 18th
Rain’s no stranger to Portland — it’s something you just have to come to terms with if you’re gonna live here — but I’m completely done with this relentless cloudy-rainy shtick Mother Nature’s been pulling on us. Thankfully, the sun’s eager to demonstrate that it hasn’t forgotten about us, and with any luck we’ll finally get some decent weather this weekend. If that’s the case, Aaron’s gonna have to fight me tooth and nail to get any game-playing done.
Daily Recap: April 16, 2009
Apr 17th
Another day, another dollar, another set of news that you can use. Even better, today is…drumroll please…NPD DAY!
For those that don’t know, the NPD Group is the data analysis group that keeps track of video game sales data, which they then release to the masses on a monthly basis. While in some seedy parts of the Internet the NPDs may be nothing more than “troll food,” providing console crusaders proof that THIER CONSOLE IS TEH BEST EVAR for message board flame wars, the sales data are useful to show a few things we can dig into and analyze.
Resident Evil 5 was the sales leader in March, nearing 1.5 million total copies on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Image from residentevil.com.
A full list of console and game sales totals for March can be found at 1up.com’s news article on the topic. Salient analysis? Resident Evil 5 was popular – selling more than 900,000 copies on Xbox 360, and 580,000 on the PlayStation 3. On the console side, the Wii just keeps selling – moving more than 600,000 units in March, and 700,000 in February. Yowza. RE5 360, Pokemon Platinum on DS, Halo Wars, RE5 PS3 and Wii Fit are the top five games for March, and Wii Fit, Street Fighter 4 360 and then PS3, Wii Play and Killzone 2 are the top five for February.
Review: World of Goo (PC)
Apr 15th
I hope you don’t finish reading this review.
Go ahead and leave! Really, I won’t mind. I’d rather you not waste any more time before you close your web browser and download a copy of World of Goo. But hey, I’m not here to tell you what to do — I’m just a lowly blogger who’s here to state my case, and let you make the decision.
But come on. Let’s be honest — you and I both know you’re gonna get this game, and you’re gonna love it to death, and you’ll think back on it fondly for years to come. Sound good? Great. Not convinced? Read on.
Daily Recap: April 14, 2009
Apr 15th
This is what an "E74" error looks up close and personal. I should know: It claimed my second 360 a year and a half ago. (Photo by Doug Bonham)
News – it happens every day. Here we are again with another daily update.
First, from the “tell me where you’ve heard this before” file, Microsoft is extending the warranties for Xbox 360 owners who have suffered from an “E74″ error to three years and will be offering refunds to owners who have already paid for repairs. Though not the famous “Red Ring of Death” with the three red lights that has come to symbolize Xbox 360 futility, the E74 has been showing up more frequently as of late. The symptoms of an E74 problem include an error code flashing on screen with one red light illuminated on the console. The error stems from either a failed video cable connection to the system or a failed video board in the console itself.
Our Most Anticipated Games of 2009
Apr 14th
With E3 2009 just around the corner, it seems like an appropriate time to outline the known games we’re excited to see released over the rest of the year. Though our staff hasn’t had access to these games in a professional, hands-on manner, our comments are based on scouring sources for factual elements with pieces of speculation and analysis tossed in. Enjoy.