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August 26th, 2009, 15:53 Posted By: Bratman Du
Publisher/Developer: Team 17
Release: 1st July 2009
Genre: Turn-based-strategy
Players: 1 - 4
Age Rating: ESRB: Everyone 10+
Price: 800 msp
Well we've already had Worms on XBLA. It was fine for the time, but I was not impressed by the lack of weapons and customization. This is the version we should have been given first time round.
First off, the name, Worms 2: Armageddon. There was a 'Worms 2', and there was a 'Worms: Armageddon'. But these were two seperate games. As you'd expect, 'Worms 2: Armageddon' is something of a mix of the two, with Worms 2's advanced level of customization, and Armageddon's excellent weapon selection and mix of single player tasks.
There's also some new weapons and modes, unique to this version of Worms, the poison gas will quickly fill up tunnels and whittle away the health of them tunnelling bastards, and the bunker buster will fall from the sky and burrow a bit before exploding. So clearly the player who favours hiding is in for some punishment. That's what you get for cowardice!
This is perhaps the most complete version of Worms to date. It's the purest form yet. Great sound effects and voices, plently of customization, buckets of crazy weapons (Concrete Donkey!), and simple controls.
Even after 15 years or so, the original concept of Worms still works, a 2D map, selection of weapons, turn based fun. I like to think of Worms as our generation's chess, and that, in 60 years I'll be sitting as an old man in the park, playing Worms as the ultimate test of tactics and intelligence!
You can tell a lot about someone from how they play Worms, the aformentioned tunnellers, the ninja rope experts, the insanely accurate grenade/cluster bomb throwers, who can throw one from across the map, factoring wind resistance, into your lap, and the complete bastards who block your Worms in with girders (I'm one of them).
So it's Worms, and it's got the weapons and the customization. You can't go wrong with that. It also has a few different modes on offer aside from the standard deathmatch. Forts mode has two teams stuck on largish islands in the water, with no easy way from one to the other. Jetpacks and Ninja Ropes are forbidden so basically you must besiege your opponents island and try to get him from afar with limited and time delayed weapons. It's actually more fun than I thought it would be. Then there's race mode, where you try to get through a maze like level in a shorter time than your opponent. It works pretty well too as a change of pace.
Single player wise, the AI is pretty much same as ever - pinpoint accurate with grenades, and occasionally stupid when stuck or blocked by scenery. It's a shame really, as more human behaving AI would make this game an excellent purchase for those not interested in dealing with other people. As it stands however, unless you are going to be playing this against real people, either through XBox live, or locally in a pass-the-controller match, then there isn't much on offer. The campaign, whilst it has some interesting challenges, particularly the last one (Armageddon), don't last too long, and you can complete the single player campaign in one sitting.
Given the random and seemingly infinate nature of the levels, you'd think there could have been hundreds of campaign levels, but in fact there are only 35.
But Worms has always been about the multiplayer, and in that respect, it works well. I noticed a few bugs, with maps being selected before I'd pressed a button. There was the occasionaly random loss of connection, which I'm fairly sure was the game's fault, but hasn't happened recently so maybe that's been sorted. The search+lobby system could be a bit more streamlined, but generally it works and it isn't too hard to find a game. Players XBox avatars show up between turns to laugh or cry at the performance last turn, which is a nice touch, but can slow down the action, but then, is Worms really about a fast pace anyway?
In closing, I can't really put this game down too much, I'm annoyed and feel that this is what the first Worms on XBLA should have been, but we've finally got exactly the type of game XBLA was made for. I realise there are a lot of goodies out now for XBLA and also for DLC, but if you have the points, this is a must have for any gamer who respects their history.
Worth the money for definate, but make sure you have friends to play with either locally or on Xbox Live!
Bratman.
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August 26th, 2009, 13:59 Posted By: Bratman Du
Publisher/Developer: Team 17
Release: 1st July 2009
Genre: Turn-based-strategy
Players: 1 - 4
Age Rating: ESRB: Everyone 10+
Well we've already had Worms on XBLA. It was fine for the time, but I was not impressed by the lack of weapons and customization. This is the version we should have been given first time round.
First off, the name, Worms 2: Armageddon. There was a 'Worms 2', and there was a 'Worms: Armageddon'. But these were two seperate games. As you'd expect, 'Worms 2: Armageddon' is something of a mix of the two, with Worms 2's advanced level of customization, and Armageddon's excellent weapon selection and mix of single player tasks.
There's also some new weapons and modes, unique to this version of Worms, the poison gas will quickly fill up tunnels and whittle away the health of them tunnelling bastards, and the bunker buster will fall from the sky and burrow a bit before exploding. So clearly the player who favours hiding is in for some punishment. That's what you get for cowardice!
This is perhaps the most complete version of Worms to date. It's the purest form yet. Great sound effects and voices, plently of customization, buckets of crazy weapons (Concrete Donkey!), and simple controls.
Even after 15 years or so, the original concept of Worms still works, a 2D map, selection of weapons, turn based fun. I like to think of Worms as our generation's chess, and that, in 60 years I'll be sitting as an old man in the park, playing Worms as the ultimate test of tactics and intelligence!
You can tell a lot about someone from how they play Worms, the aformentioned tunnellers, the ninja rope experts, the insanely accurate grenade/cluster bomb throwers, who can throw one from across the map, factoring wind resistance, into your lap, and the complete bastards who block your Worms in with girders (I'm one of them).
So it's Worms, and it's got the weapons and the customization. You can't go wrong with that. It also has a few different modes on offer aside from the standard deathmatch. Forts mode has two teams stuck on largish islands in the water, with no easy way from one to the other. Jetpacks and Ninja Ropes are forbidden so basically you must besiege your opponents island and try to get him from afar with limited and time delayed weapons. It's actually more fun than I thought it would be. Then there's race mode, where you try to get through a maze like level in a shorter time than your opponent. It works pretty well too as a change of pace.
Single player wise, the AI is pretty much same as ever - pinpoint accurate with grenades, and occasionally stupid when stuck or blocked by scenery. It's a shame really, as more human behaving AI would make this game an excellent purchase for those not interested in dealing with other people. As it stands however, unless you are going to be playing this against real people, either through XBox live, or locally in a pass-the-controller match, then there isn't much on offer. The campaign, whilst it has some interesting challenges, particularly the last one (Armageddon), don't last too long, and you can complete the single player campaign in one sitting.
Given the random and seemingly infinate nature of the levels, you'd think there could have been hundreds of campaign levels, but in fact there are only 35.
But Worms has always been about the multiplayer, and in that respect, it works well. I noticed a few bugs, with maps being selected before I'd pressed a button. There was the occasionaly random loss of connection, which I'm fairly sure was the game's fault, but hasn't happened recently so maybe that's been sorted. The search+lobby system could be a bit more streamlined, but generally it works and it isn't too hard to find a game. Players XBox avatars show up between turns to laugh or cry at the performance last turn, which is a nice touch, but can slow down the action, but then, is Worms really about a fast pace anyway?
In closing, I can't really put this game down too much, I'm annoyed and feel that this is what the first Worms on XBLA should have been, but we've finally got exactly the type of game XBLA was made for. I realise there are a lot of goodies out now for XBLA and also for DLC, but if you have the points, this is a must have for any gamer who respects their history.
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August 24th, 2009, 00:53 Posted By: Shadowblind
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Publisher: Eidos
Developer: rocksteady
Genre: Adventure
ESRB: T
This game was reviewed using the Xbox 360 Version. The PS3 version can be considered to have a slightly higher value to due to the exclusive Joker challenge rooms.
If there is anyone out there prior to The Dark Knight (or even the Batman Animated Series, based on how good it was) who doesn't think Batman is the most awesome, badass super hero out there, think again. Before you read, yes, I am saying this because, not primarily though, this game is one of the best comic book games ever made. While thats not exactly a big achievement to be able to get after many, many mediocre superhero games, rocksteady, the developers of the Batman AA scored big points with this game. Without exaggeration, this is by far the closest thing you'll ever have to feeling like the dark knight himself. That said, this game is definitely not without flaws, some minor, some stupid.
The story begins after Batman apprehends the Joker and brings him into Arkham Asylum, the high security prison where all the super villains of the likes of Ivy, Joker, Killer Croc, and all Bat's other rivals are taken. Well, if the intro doesn't hint you off long before the actual event occurs, the Joker proceeds to break out into the Asylum, gaining control over it and trapping Batman in a night long hellish battle against many of his major foes.
The story itself belongs in a Batman Animated Series cartoon, or a 3 issue comic sub-series. That is to say that it isn't anything close to the stories of games such as Bioshock or half-Life, or even Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. To be honest, it was underwhelming, but felt very fitting, and you'll probably feel the same way if you grew up on the old Batman Cartoons. Batman consistently walks into traps, even though he himself states that he knows they are traps. I suppose this is to show just how skilled a fighter he is, knowingly walking into traps set by his various rivals. It came off more in a way that made me think rocksteady wasn't quite sure how the real Dark Knight would have approached these situations, most certainly not as headstrong and reckless as he does in the game. Stealth is almost nonexistent in the boss fights with the exception of the Scarecrow battles, which really doesn't feel anything like the way Bats begins a fight. Its nothing big, but it grated my nerves a little to see him fight as head-on as he does with enemies like Bane and Ivy.
The combat system is unique. Trademarked as the "FreeFlow" combat system, you jump from enemy to enemy beating them up, countering some attacks and dodging others. It works great on small to medium sized groups of enemies, and its a blast to use, though the slow-cam really got on my nerves later on in the game. What doesn't work is when there is a larger group of enemies attacking you all at once. The controls don't react as tight as you'd like, and pulling off long combos becomes more tedious. When more then one enemy type appears at any one time with the large group of people, it borders on becoming a mess. Specific buttons for specific enemies doesn't work as well as it could with the clutter on screen during this mass battles.
Bosses are a different matter. With the exception of a few (I'm looking at you, Ivy) the boss battles are fun and fast. Even though as aforementioned they aren't the way Bats would handle them, each boss usually has a different way to defeat them other then "mash the attack button!!!11". The Scarecrow levels in particular stand out as the best by far, combining more scariness then Silent Hill and Resident Evil had in the last four years with great platforming stealth. The visuals at this point are at their best, with fantastic lighting and special effects. Oh, and some of the most clever ideas I've seen in a video game(you'll know it when you see it. Escaping Convicts may be Batman XD) Bane's fight is also a standout. With this said, what the hell happened with the final boss, rocksteady? For me the worst boss battle in the game, and fairly easy at that, and without spoiling anything, is very similar to a certain "mess" I described earlier. Surely they could have made a much better battle with the Joker of all people. I'm also very disappointed we never got Mr. Freeze in the game.
Now the game where Batman AA can stand proud is its stealth component. When fighting armed enemies, running into even two of them will end in a pretty bad time for the Batman, and if you somehow live, then you'll have probably only a fraction of life left. When you enter rooms full of 6 or more gun wielding nuts, you've got a party on your hands. The game prides itself on the various ways to take down an enemy. Stringing them by their feet from a gargoyle, smashing through glass onto them from above, pulling them off a ledge, the possibilities are huge. The AI is very convincing too. When they see a body, they'll call over their buddies and you can hear them talking about you, gradually getting more and more afraid of you as you pick them off one by one without even being seen or heard. If they get scared enough, they'll even start just shooting all around them, blasting at bats and shadows on the walls. You can hear them begin to talk to themselves and say things like "I'm next...hes going to get me isn't he..." It really adds the the satisfaction you get when taking them out, especially when you take them all out without being seen or heard at all. By far, this is Batman AA's best quality, and the time when the game shines its brightest. Though not as realistic as the often trial-and-error stealth in Splinter Cell, its more so then games like Metal Gear Solid, though not as forgiving. This adds to the idea that although you are still just a man, you are as close to the best a man could hope to be.
Speaking of which, Batman has never been simply about bashing the crap out of people, though he definitely does that. Hailed as a genius, Batman's detective skills are also a large part of the game's realism, though unfortunately from a gamer's standpoint they aren't really very fun. To do as the Bat does, a special type of vision labeled Detective Mode is used to study evidence or crime scenes to determine where to go next. The detective work is more used as a breadcrumb trail to follow to continue the story then anything else, though they do help to display to the player Batman's true intellect.
As is custom, Batman also has a vast array of weaponry by his side, such as the batarang and grappling hook. Lets get this out of the way; the batarang sucks. It couldn't take out a half-dead squirrel. Others are pointless. The remote batarang, the Sonic batarang...not too many uses for them. The rest of the tools he has don't really feel necessary. While the grappling hook, batarang(yeah, even if its not too good, you need it) cape and cowl all have many uses to them, the rest of the gadgets don't help with anything but their specific regions of use. Of course, that isn't a bad thing at all, but some of his toys seem well suited for other purposes, such as grappling an enemy into your fist instead of just sort of moving them around, or a batarang knocking out an enemy instead of just making them flinch. They all work, though with some cumbersome controls, but they have more potential then they use.
Thats not to say the gameplay isn't a strong component of the game, but it has flaws that start out as annoyances and gradually build up to frustrations later in the game. The stealth is freakin' sweet.
This game's audio is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you have the almost impeccable VOs in the game. On the other, you have some of the most forgettable music I've ever heard in a high profile game. Literally, I just spent the last week or so playing this game each day, and I cannot recall any tune whatsoever from the game. I don't ever remember thinking "this music is bad", but I don't ever really remember thinking it was good either, or even if there was music...its entirely forgettable. The sound effects aren't a whole lot better. Pretty much just generic punches, cracks bangs, etc.
But the VOs, like I said before, are fantastic. Straight from the heart of our nostalgia with the Bat, the voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the Batman and Joker are in the game. And just like over a decade ago, they still sound just as fitting as ever. The cast is here, mostly anyway, as Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow and Commissioner Gordon retain their original voices. Honestly, the cast was steller back then, and since nothing has changed. They did great VOs, end of story. Except that the new, steroid-induced Batman looks a bit strange with Conroy's voice.
The level of detail on the characters is stunning. Batman's suit, the rips and tears it gains through the game, the Joker's....everything, its all detailed all the way around. The only real complaint about the character models is that they look fairly toy-like, maybe due to the Unreal 3 Engine its based off of. That, and that every baddie you beat up look essentially the exact same, and have the exact same movements and animations.
The environments aren't bad either, but they really don't stand out at any point in the game. the game also suffers from a case of "too grey" and not having enough variations in the environment. The detective mode is really neat, turning all the baddies into walking skeletons and making everything around you blue and orange. The only problem is that detective mode makes the game easier then what otherwise would be a masochistic difficulty level, and while in detective mode you are unable to appreciate the graphical detail of the characters and the environments.
Summary:
Batman AA has a great, if repetitive combat system that tends to get too confusing in massive groups. The use of tools is neat, but forgettable and the potential each tool could have had is not realized in the game. The stealth system and action is the drawing point of the game, standing up to games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, though not above them. The many ways to dispatch an enemy and terrify others truly makes you feel like the Dark Knight. The Voice overs are fantastic, the music isn't. The story feels just like a comic book story, which is actually fairly shallow for such deep characters. Boss fights are good, with the exception of the last fight, and the Scarecrow boss fights are up and away the best. Great atmosphere. Graphics are detailed, but have flaws such as plastic-character syndrome.
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August 23rd, 2009, 20:42 Posted By: bandit
M3i Zero DS DSi Cartridge SLOT-1
Manufacturer: M3
Site: Buy from ConsoleSource
Price: $23.50
Overview : M3 Adapter is an amazing product for those who want to download homemade games, watch movies and listen music from a PC to a NDS. You can use your PC and normal SD/TF Card Reader to transfer your movie & music files to SD/TF card. Then, insert M3 Adapter with SD/TF Card into GBA(SP) / NDS, and it will be available after boot up the console. Its feature just the same as any other MP3 Player on the market but also playing the opensource/license free games, movies instead of playing music only. eg. Support playing over thousands of homebrew games.
One of the coolest feature of a M3 Adapter is that you can directly run homebrew software on it – that includes emulators, PDA, browser etc...
Excellent homebrew support, create your own games or programs.
Features :- Compatible with DS, DSL & DSi.
- 100% game compatibility.
- Supports Real Time Save function . (Save & Restore anytime, anywhere.)
- Supports Multi-Language System (English, French, Germany, Italian, Spain, Portuguese, Dutch, Korea & Thai Language.)
- Continue to update & frequency enhance software/ firmware.
- Support micro SDHC (capacity over 4GB, 8GB,16GB & 32GB…)
- Extreme simple to use, just plug & Play.
- Super Cheat Function
- Fully AR Cheat Code Compatible engine.
- Support reading individual cheat code file too. (xml, cht, dht, dat-R4 format)
- Supports software rest function.
- Support slow motion feature.
- Automatically detect and generate game save file.
- Excellent homebrew support, DLDI auto-patcher
- Robust & skinnable GUI
- Build in PassMe.
- Integrated least Moonshell 2.0 version.
- Supports download play.
- Supports rumble pack, GBA expansion pack & DS Browser.
- Supports 4-scale-lightness adjustment.
Quality/Usability : The M3 Team is well known with in the homebrew scene. Their newest product is the M3i Zero. It has a beautiful interface, upgradeable firmware, works with DS, DS Lite and the DSi. Like most flash carts, the M3i Zero comes in a cardboard box with a window cut out displaying the M3i Zero. When you open the box, you pull out a plastic tray that holds the M3i Zero in a plastic case, microSD reader and a USB cord. The microSD reader is really small and has M3 stamped on it. The USB cord looks like a miniUSB cord but its not. It has a USB cord on one end that connects to your computers USB port and the other end has a small thin ribbon cable strip that inserts into a small slot on the side of the M3i Zero. I love the idea but the way it was designed, the cable is flexible but can easily be damaged or bent out of shape. I dont think there is a way to get a replacement for this USB cord only unless you contact M3. However, this cable serves one purpose and thats to flash your M3i with the newest firmware when available.
To plug the ribbon into the M3i, have the M3i logo face down on the table or surface. MicroSD slot should be on the top right side and the bottom opening of the M3i at the bottom...showing you its gold plates. On the left side there is a small rectangle slot. On the USB cord, there is an arrow. Have that face up. Insert the ribbon into the cable. In other words, plug the USB ribbon onto the other side of where the microSD slot is located. It would of been nice if the M3i had an arrow or indication as well.
Flashing the cart is not complicated. Simply insert your microSD into a card reader and copy and paste the updated files onto the root of your microSD card. Remove the microSD and insert it into the M3i. The microSD slot is spring loaded and accepts microSDHC. Plug the ribbon on the USB cord into the M3i before inserting the USB cable into your computer. Once it is plugged into the computer, the M3i should begin to update automatically. The back of the M3i will begin to blink a red light. This will indicate that it is being updated and used and will stop blinking when flashing is completed.
If you have used other M3 products such as the M3 Real, you'll notice that they have used the Sakura theme on the M3i Zero as well. The theme is elegant and easy to navigate. So those familiar with the Sakura will have no problems. Those new to M3 products or the Sakura theme, you'll navigate it in no time.
The top screen consists of file navigation, date, time, control options and the bottom screen is a file browser.
To access the GUI setting, simply press the START button. The GUI setting consists of:
Viewing Initial Setup at boot
Run DiskCheck on bootup
Enable sound effects
Enable fade transition effect
Show the last file run after booting up
Lock Folder Navigation
Hide filename extensions
Hide unsupported files
Use dark background screensaver
Enable FastStart movie playback
Lock L/R during music playback
Since the list of so big to have it fit all on the screen, as you scroll down, the top screen is also used as a viewer. So you'll be able to view things on both screens rather than the bottom and having to scroll back and forth.
The music player is probably the best audio player for the DS. The controls are fairly to use:
X/Y – increase volume
R+L – Pause
L+R – Next track
L+Left – Bring up the MP3 Menu (a mini menu that appears on the bottom screen on the right hand side. This is viewable no matter what folder you are in and allows you to access the players controls.)
L+Up – Pause
L+Down – Change Mode
L+Right – Next Track
To view pictures or videos, this is done through Moonshell. Movies will need to be in .dpg format in order to be playable.
To play your NDS games, you can simply highlight the game and press A or use the touch screen. This will load the game. If you highlight the game and press X, this will bring up a menu:
Cheats (contains cheat files)
NDS-GBA Link (allows you to connect your DS game to your GBA game)
RTS Backup (allows you to save your Real-Time Save data. This is different from a save point saved by the game. RTS can be saved at anytime whether it be during in a middle of a fight or you walking and havent reached a save point in the game)
Cheat Switch (set cheats to be Off, Always on, Activatable (turn on and off during a game) or “instant codes”)
Soft-Reset/RTS Switch (You can choose to either have soft reset, or RTS. You can set the key combinations to be: Soft Reset: LR+ABX or LR+ABY or RTS: LR+Select or LR+Y)
Play Mode (allows someone who doesn’t have the game to download it from someone else who has the game through WIFI, so that they may play together aka Download Play. This is found on games like Mario Kart, Tetris, etc.)
Conclusion : Overall, the M3i Zero worked great and loaded up every game and homebrew I loaded. Navigation was easy to browse and was pleasing to the eyes. The way the M3i Zero updates its firmware is very unique however, I feel the design may have a flaw since the ribbon cable has a potential of being damaged if not properly taken care of. It would also help if an arrow or indication was placed on the shell of the M3i Zero to indicate where the ribbon would be inserted. If Nintendo releases a firmware that prevents a flash cart from being used, the M3i Zero is easily upgradeable when a suitable and compatible firmware is released. No need to go out and purchase a new flash cart unless it is really necessary and the developers have exhausted all possible options.
Images via comments.
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August 20th, 2009, 04:47 Posted By: fg-54
Developed By: Codeglue
Published By: THQ
Genre: Action
Players: 1-8
Console: Xbox 360
Price: 800 
ERSB:
 Cartoon Violence.
________________________
Overview: Rocket Riot is one of those titles that seemed to have pooped out of nowhere, Until the review code came up, I hadn't heard about this game at all. After playing this game, I realize that I am not the only one who is unaware of its existence.
Gameplay: Rocket Riot controls much like Geometry Wars. You move your player around with the left thumb stick, and shoot by aiming with the right one, except the longer you hold the stick in any direction, the more momentum the rocket will have. There are many different enemies to fight against such as zombies, robots, monsters, aliens, ect, but they all die in one hit so you are pretty much fighting the same enemy with a different skin, "Hey look! I am in a room full of zombies! OH LOOK! NOW I am in a room full or robots!....and they are behaving exactly like the zombies did on the last level...".
You can "Customize" your own character which is nice, but this only goes as far as choosing a character, its primary color, and its "Detail" color. Every enemy you kill is unlocked as a playable character aside from bosses, and there are PLENTY of these, you can really get picky with what character you end up with because the guys who made the characters really made a wide range of them.
Even tho there are 80 "different" levels in this game, most of the stuff is incredibly repetitive. Level one, defeat ten guys, level two, defeat fifteen guys, level three, defeat twenty guys, ect. Then there are also the levels where you have to search and destroy a character. Level four, find him, level five? find him again...... Twice. There are a couple of other game variations that you will have to do throughout the main single player story mode over and over and over again with a slight change to "justify" that it is a new level *sigh* and those tedious football mini games, why don't YOU take a guess before reading huh? Level one, score one goal....Level two, score TWO goals! WHOA! This is a brand new experience! NOT! After level thirty five I had to force myself to come back and play the game so I could review it.
Lets not forget tho, this game supports online multi player! well...no, not really, even tho the mode is available, there is absolutely NO ONE playing the game, and if I didn't have to review this game, I would have stopped long ago myself. I tried going into quick player and rank matches, custom matches, ect. But every time I searched I would, to my surprise find that there is no one else interested in having a go at it online. It is a shame too, I would have loved to complain about this game with other people who bought it and ask "So why did YOU buy the game?".
To be fair tho, I can see how the online mode would be fun, but as of now, since I haven't been able to find anyone else to play against, my guess is just as good as yours.
Everything you see can be destroyed because it is made with "Pixels" that act as individuals, this is probably one of the funnest things to do because it just feels great to destroy, they made it work and they made it fun.
This image only shows a fraction of the characters you can choose from.
There are a couple of power ups in this game that you will find by destroying the environment. These are split up into four sections: Green power ups improve your fire power by adding faster fire rate, or increasing the size of your rockets etc. Blue power ups increase your defense by giving you upgrades such as health recovery. Yellow power ups are useless but "fun"; They turn your rockets into game balls or increase the size of the explosion that your rockets create when they collide. And lastly there are red power ups, or rather, power downs; These are harmful to you and should be avoided at all costs unless you wanna be a rocket magnet or you want the ability to shoot rockets to be taken from you.
Aside from the main single player campaign and the multi player mode, there is the "Endurance Mode" where you fight wave after wave of enemies (Much like in the single player campaign); And the "Play Ground mode" where you will be able to use any power ups you want and will be presented with only one enemy at a time.
Graphics: Rocket Riot has a very unique visual style. From far away, you may think that the environment in Rocket Riot was made with sprite sheets pixel by pixel, But it is actually a 3-D game that succeeds at having a rather "old school" feel and look to it. The characters are built the same way but they look much sharper then the environment, sometimes it is even hard to tell where the pixels are at when you look at the them.
Sometimes as you are rocketing across the level, you may be confused by what is a wall and what is not, I found this to be a problem every now and then; The only way to really be sure is to ether throw a rocket at it or try to look at it from a slight angle so you can see if it has depth or not. This got me killed a couple of times as I hindered myself from throwing a rocket at an enemy while low in health, to throw a rocket at what seemed to be a solid object blocking my way for my desperate escape. The objects that confuse me the most are the ones that have some depth, but not enough to block your path.
Sound: Throughout the game I only heard a couple of songs, luckily this isn't a music game or else it would be awful....well...It would be worse. The few songs that I listened to seemed ok, there is one specific one that caught me ear because of its quirky lyrics and high pitched robotic like voice that sings in it; It reminded me a lot of the "Ben Ten" theme song for those of you who watch Cartoon Network (Don't ask me how I know this).
Replay Value: The game play is simple so I found it easy to multi-task while playing this game. And just why would you want to multi-task as you play this game? Because you are really gonna wish you were doing something else; There are 80 levels total in the game and once you go through them (even tho I don't understand why you would want to) you are gonna wish you could forget it all. After playing this game the only contemplation I have is that I did it so I could write a review on it, I did it so that I could warn you readers about this game and hope that you don't have to go through what I went through.
Hmmm... His are bigger then mine...
Conclusion: The first few levels may have been fun, but the last ones are nothing more then a frustration machine. Do you know how fun it is to kill 75 enemies without dying? my greatest moments are when I had only a couple left and some good for nothing son of a rocket would take me out! Then what you ask? the level re-starts and the count goes up to 75 again, try doing THAT 5 times in a row so you can get to the next level; Oh hey! Guess what I need to do on the next level? kill 80 enemies! Doesn't THAT sound fun?
Boss battles are too few in between and even when you DO have them, they are not fun at all; It feels like I am fighting any other enemy except it took steroids so now it has a bigger body, and it takes more then one rocket to kill.
If you are looking for a fast paced shooter then save yourself from this awful experience and please allow me to re-direct your attention to Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and Galaga Legions. That is about twenty times the fun for the same price.
Overall Score: 
.:Skip It!:.
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August 19th, 2009, 18:22 Posted By: westy118
Ashes 2009
Published by Codemasters
Platform: PCCD, Wii, PS3, XBOX360(version reviewed)
RRP Ł44.99
Well for those of you who enjoy cricket Codemasters has released Ashes 2009 just in time for the end of the series. If anyone in the gaming world is still bothering to read this review then you’ll be sad to hear that the game suffers in much the same way a movie tie-in game suffers. I have the distinct feeling that this games was rushed out to capitalise on the sports popularity for the summer.
There are some very nice touches in this game, when you first start it asks you to pick your international team and the menus are decked out in that teams colours hence forth. When you look at the menu screen you realise there really isn’t that many options -play cricket, legends and an online mode is about it in terms of playing the game, the rest are basically options. Within the play cricket menu there are four options - Ashes 2009, One Day, Test, and 20 Overs.
I chose the 20 Overs first simply because it was the closest thing to an arcade experience. The first thing I noticed when the game started was how poor the stadium looked, it was like something from the PS2, a 2D crowd and shoddy looking camera men. I went to bat first, holding down the left bumper or left trigger will chose if you’re batting off the front foot or back foot, and not touching either it will do it automatically. X=a defensive shot, A=attacking and B=a Loft shot(what you want if you’re smacking for a six), use the left analogue stick to aim your shot. The first bowl came in and I was out immediately, seems I had been holding down the B when all it really need was a tap. It’s all in the timing, you have to get it right or more often than not your gonna be out.
If your shot stays within the boundaries you have to choose whether to run or not, one tap of the B to run once(note do not keep tapping B, cause they’ll just keep running!) and a tap of A to stop.
I was soon out and it was my time to Bowl. Firstly you must choose where to place your fielders, a little over my head but I’d say cricket fans would enjoy this. When you’re bowling, choose where your aiming for and the bowler will begin his run up. A power meter will come up much like in golf, hit one of the face buttons(which are different types of bowls like inside, outside, slow and swing) when you want to stop it an away he bowls, Pretty simple.
Now I wanna talk about this games problem, I quite like the game play, but for me some of the animations are done so well it really lets the game down when there are ones that aren’t. It just feels like a few weeks more and they would’ve nailed all of it. For example it looks great when the bowler has a short run up, but in his longer runs ups he looks like a two year old who’s just deuced himself. The crowds look awful and the outfielders look hideous when diving for the ball. Some of the players don’t look anything like their real life counterparts and some even seem to suffer from big head syndrome.
Having said all that, I am well into playing an Ashes series and am enjoying it quite a lot, I’ve started to really think about where I’m placing my outfielders and it’s quite satisfying getting someone out, especially when playing on the harder difficulties, and smacking a six and watching the replay is great. There are also some good moments of tension too - the Umpire checking the video replays to see if you’re out or not is very well done, and the commentary hasn’t become annoying yet either which is a plus.
I can see there being problems with replay value, the lack of variety and the fact that there are only national teams and no leagues either hinders the game. It could really do with getting the IPL or county teams, World 20/20 or World Cup to enhance the one player experience.
Overall a worthwhile game if you’re a serious fan of cricket, worth renting for a weekend if you’re a casual fan, and you’re probably not even reading this review if you’re not!
3 out of 5.
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August 18th, 2009, 22:11 Posted By: Shadowblind
Wolfenstein
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First-Person Shooter
ESRB: M
This game was reviewed from the Xbox 360 version.
Long, long ago, in a land far, far away(Dallas Texas, to be precise) a small game development company named id created a game called Wolfenstein 3D. With graphics not much better then a Gameboy Color game, this first-person-shooter rose to the top of sales charts, having made an entirely new way to play the video game--and anyone with even a small knowledge of video game history can tell you what it was. While Wolfenstein's spiritual successor Doom is credited for perfecting, or rather making mainstream the idea of the FPS, Wolfenstein essentially invented it.
And so, about 18 years later, a new game with the moniker Wolfenstein is released, this time developed by id's close partner Raven Software. Obviously, remaking a game made almost two decades ago that had a storyline you'd only know if you read the manual wouldn't have went over too well these days. Instead, Raven made Wolfenstein a direct sequel to Wolfenstein 3D's sequel, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Taking place directly after the events of Castle Wolfenstein(and I mean DIRECTLY after the events. Poor BJ doesn't even get a break) you follow war-time hero and G.I. Joe-esqe spy, BJ Blazkowitz as he again confronts the Nazi's twisted attempts to gain control of the occult for their own nefarious means. What this game ended up as is a perfect sequel to Castle Wolfenstein. While I say perfect, I don't mean the game itself is perfect. but rather that Wolfenstein gave me the exact same feel as Castle Wolfenstein did back in 2003(yes, I was late to the party on that game). The setting, atmosphere, enemies, even weapons will feel very familiar to you if you had played the games prequel.
Nazis are still right up there with zombies as the most killed vidya game characters.
For this Wolfenstein, Raven software seems to have decided to take Gears of War creator Cliffy B's idea that FPS games can benefit from RPG elements to heart. Like games such as Bioshock, any gun you get in Wolfenstein can be upgraded, given you have enough money for the job. Gaining money can be just finishing missions or finding bags of the green stuff lying around. For whatever reason people leave bags of gold lying around, we'll never know. But who cares, its a game. Thats the fun about it. Anyway, as each weapon can be upgraded with various attachments (scopes, silencers, extra clips, etc.) the powers you gain through a mysterious medallion in the game are also upgradable. These upgrades become unlocked the more you progress through the game's various missions. The problem with the upgrade system for the powers of your medallion are that it just doesn't do that much to make it too much better of a tool. For the weapons however, the upgrades are something worth paying for, especially for guns such as the Kar98 rifle and the Tesla gun. The upgrade system works, if not so much for your medallion's powers, for your weapons.
The gunplay itself is very familiar. Following the traditional gunplay of its prequel, Wolfenstein features the same run-and-gun action as Castle Wolfenstein, this time supporting an auto-regeneration health system. Compared to Halo, Rainbow Six and other games that use regenerating health, you have a good lot more in Wolfenstein then in other games, letting you usually just run into a group of Nazis or monsters and just open fire with disregard. Personally, I have never been a big fan of regenerating health in single player games. Wolfenstein could have worked just as well with the traditional 100 hit points health scale, used in past Wolf games, but heck. What shooter DOESN'T feature regen-health these days. This health type does work well in the connecting areas where you will spend your time in between missions, helping allies and buying upgrades around town, as well as using your powers to find secrets.
Speaking of powers, the abilities you find in the game are inside what is called the Veil. The Veil itself is one of the coolest aspects of the game. It uses a bar of magic that can be upgraded to hold more magic at a time. The bar has auto-regeneration too, however the rate of refilling is far too slow for combat purposes. For this reason, there are many different "hot spots" in each level where you can run to refill your gauge, and they are so frequent, that you could essentially stay in the Veil for entire levels at a time. Now the Veil is a bit hard to explain, other then "parallel dimension". While in the Veil, the games colors start glowing neon and enemies turn to a bright green color, making them easier to see and shoot. Secrets and weak spots on enemies glow red, and are easier to find. Previously unreachable areas now have Veil ladders or doors you can use to access the off-limits area. In the Veil, you run significantly faster then you do outside of it. It really is a neat concept, and unlike many game concepts, the implementation of the Veil works much better then a simple gimmick. While some of the powers you gain through the Veil's power wheel may be considered unnecessary, the Veil itself is used for all facets of the game; platforming, puzzles(albeit as shallow puzzles as you can get) and especially the gunplay.
The boss battles are some of the high points of the games gunplay. With very few exceptions, each boss requires a different strategy then firing like crazy till the thing drops. Without spoiling anything, most boss battles require using the bosses strengths against it or the environment to drop the boss. Some enemies need the same strategies. Enemies like the Scribes and Power Soldiers are resistant to normal gunfire and require you to change your way of attack when facing them. The AI itself is a mixed bag. While some enemies will blatantly stand out in the open for you to pick off, other will hide behind cover to take pot shots at you until you aim at them, when they will retract to cover, peaking out to see if your still aiming at them. Pretty much every enemy battle you'll fight, at least one of them will toss a grenade in your direction. Usually, their grenade aim sucks. I've had enemies throw grenades at the wall in front of them and blowing half their team up, while other enemies will run out of the blast radius of your grenade. Like Call of Duty though, you can always throw their grenades back at them, especially since they take almost 3 seconds to detonate. So yes, the AI can be very stupid, or they can be fairly intelligent. Just like humans, so hey. Maybe they did plan on that. Doubt it though. Oh, and I feel I should mention that some of the later boss battles will make some of you rip your hair out. They aren't simply "cheap"...they're pathetically cheap, if that adjective can even be used in context here.
After you've upgraded your more powerful weapons like the Kar98 rifle, enemies will begin to dismember depending on where you hit them at. Just like Fallout 3 and Soldier of Fortune, the limb removal is a neat aspect, but it doesn't change the gameplay in any way. As a graphical feature though, the enemy's animations when hit in certain areas are pretty entertaining, and strangely realistic looking. Some will just drop their weapon and slowly drop to the floor. Others will grab their neck and drop fast if you shot them below their head. Some will just flop over. I liked the different animations based on hit detection in the game. It somehow made it feel more like I was fighting a 1942 Nazi then 1991 Wolfenstein 3D nazi.
Another graphical feature, and arguably the coolest one is the look of the Veil. When you click the "Veil" button on your controller and travel to the Veil, all the walls and roads and enemies are coated in a different, miscolored look, sometimes glowing, sometimes radiating, sometimes simply a pallet swap of color. Seeing the Veil's floating bomb creatures suddenly appear and disappear is a pretty neat thing to see, as are the bullet-time effects when you utilize the Mire power of the Veil, or the bullets reflecting off your invisible shield. I'd say thats the best feature of the Veil. Looking cool. Some guns such as the Tesla and Particle Cannon share some of the same "blue lightning" effects used in the hot spots of the Veil. They work.
The graphics otherwise are fairly standard looking UE3 graphics. Shiny, detailed, and absolutely tolerable. In other words, the graphics aren't anything amazing or special, but they are better then most other games on the market. The detail in the levels is pretty impressive, the expansive Nazi fortresses or the large town squares without any noticeable pop-in. Technically speaking, the graphics were perfectly sound, with very few noticeable glitches. The fire, though...it could have used a little work. The flamethrower makes up for it though. The characters sometimes look a bit funky though, and I've seen the same character fighting side by side with their same character model multiple times. Not to mention that every Nazi looks the same. But that is fairly standard in video games.
The game benefits from the music and sound effects, though to be honest they are forgettable. I can almost assure you there will be no songs in this game which you will be whistling, humming, or even remember after the single player is over. The sound effects are the same way. Uninspired, but they certainly work. The voice acting goes from mediocre to horrific, with BJ being the best voice in the game. Still, thats not saying a whole lot, honestly.
The biggest offense I think is just how little replay value this game has. After you run through the campaign, though it holds up fairly well, it only took me about 6 hours to complete in its entirety. I will update this when multiplayer works.
Whoops, wrong game. Though you wouldn't know that just by looking at the name.
I'm afraid I won't be able to comment on the multiplayer at the time. This isn't because I can't play it, but any match I get into thus far has had extreme lag problems, rendering it unplayable at the moment. The review will be updated when if I can be into any real matches.
Final Score :3.5/5
Summary:
Wolfenstein is the sequel to id's 2001, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The game's gunplay is solid and the weapons are cool, if fairly unoriginal. The super power you gain in the game called The Veil medallion is the high point of the game, boasting impressive and useful powers in the game, and are fun to mess around with as well. Enemies are varied, though some are rehashes of other enemies and some are downright stupid ideas. Bosses are the high points of the combat, and for the most part are a blast to fight against, specifically the last boss, which is partially a huge tribute to the original Wolfenstein 3D's mecha-hitler. Other bosses will make you wonder what Raven were thinking when they made them so difficult. The level structure is standard, and decently varied. There are many secrets in the game, and upgrading your weapons is helpful, though upgrading your powers isn't so much. The graphics are pretty impressive, specifically the Veil's effects, but its not groundbreaking. The level of detail is high for environments, but the characters look bland. The VOs are underwhelming, and the music is forgettable. Multiplayer has unacceptable lag problems, and the campaign lasted only a mere 6 and a half hours.
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August 15th, 2009, 06:09 Posted By: Shadowblind
Wolfenstein
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First-Person Shooter
ESRB: M
This game was reviewed from the Xbox 360 version.
Long, long ago, in a land far, far away(Dallas Texas, to be precise) a small game development company named id created a game called Wolfenstein 3D. With graphics not much better then a Gameboy Color game, this first-person-shooter rose to the top of sales charts, having made an entirely new way to play the video game--and anyone with even a small knowledge of video game history can tell you what it was. While Wolfenstein's spiritual successor Doom is credited for perfecting, or rather making mainstream the idea of the FPS, Wolfenstein essentially invented it.
And so, about 18 years later, a new game with the moniker Wolfenstein is released, this time developed by id's close partner Raven Software. Obviously, remaking a game made almost two decades ago that had a storyline you'd only know if you read the manual wouldn't have went over too well these days. Instead, Raven made Wolfenstein a direct sequel to Wolfenstein 3D's sequel, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Taking place directly after the events of Castle Wolfenstein(and I mean DIRECTLY after the events. Poor BJ doesn't even get a break) you follow war-time hero and G.I. Joe-esqe spy, BJ Blazkowitz as he again confronts the Nazi's twisted attempts to gain control of the occult for their own nefarious means. What this game ended up as is a perfect sequel to Castle Wolfenstein. While I say perfect, I don't mean the game itself is perfect. but rather that Wolfenstein gave me the exact same feel as Castle Wolfenstein did back in 2003(yes, I was late to the party on that game). The setting, atmosphere, enemies, even weapons will feel very familiar to you if you had played the games prequel.
Nazis are still right up there with zombies as the most killed vidya game characters.
For this Wolfenstein, Raven software seems to have decided to take Gears of War creator Cliffy B's idea that FPS games can benefit from RPG elements to heart. Like games such as Bioshock, any gun you get in Wolfenstein can be upgraded, given you have enough money for the job. Gaining money can be just finishing missions or finding bags of the green stuff lying around. For whatever reason people leave bags of gold lying around, we'll never know. But who cares, its a game. Thats the fun about it. Anyway, as each weapon can be upgraded with various attachments (scopes, silencers, extra clips, etc.) the powers you gain through a mysterious medallion in the game are also upgradable. These upgrades become unlocked the more you progress through the game's various missions. The problem with the upgrade system for the powers of your medallion are that it just doesn't do that much to make it too much better of a tool. For the weapons however, the upgrades are something worth paying for, especially for guns such as the Kar98 rifle and the Tesla gun. The upgrade system works, if not so much for your medallion's powers, for your weapons.
The gunplay itself is very familiar. Following the traditional gunplay of its prequel, Wolfenstein features the same run-and-gun action as Castle Wolfenstein, this time supporting an auto-regeneration health system. Compared to Halo, Rainbow Six and other games that use regenerating health, you have a good lot more in Wolfenstein then in other games, letting you usually just run into a group of Nazis or monsters and just open fire with disregard. Personally, I have never been a big fan of regenerating health in single player games. Wolfenstein could have worked just as well with the traditional 100 hit points health scale, used in past Wolf games, but heck. What shooter DOESN'T feature regen-health these days. This health type does work well in the connecting areas where you will spend your time in between missions, helping allies and buying upgrades around town, as well as using your powers to find secrets.
Speaking of powers, the abilities you find in the game are inside what is called the Veil. The Veil itself is one of the coolest aspects of the game. It uses a bar of magic that can be upgraded to hold more magic at a time. The bar has auto-regeneration too, however the rate of refilling is far too slow for combat purposes. For this reason, there are many different "hot spots" in each level where you can run to refill your gauge, and they are so frequent, that you could essentially stay in the Veil for entire levels at a time. Now the Veil is a bit hard to explain, other then "parallel dimension". While in the Veil, the games colors start glowing neon and enemies turn to a bright green color, making them easier to see and shoot. Secrets and weak spots on enemies glow red, and are easier to find. Previously unreachable areas now have Veil ladders or doors you can use to access the off-limits area. In the Veil, you run significantly faster then you do outside of it. It really is a neat concept, and unlike many game concepts, the implementation of the Veil works much better then a simple gimmick. While some of the powers you gain through the Veil's power wheel may be considered unnecessary, the Veil itself is used for all facets of the game; platforming, puzzles(albeit as shallow puzzles as you can get) and especially the gunplay.
The boss battles are some of the high points of the games gunplay. With very few exceptions, each boss requires a different strategy then firing like crazy till the thing drops. Without spoiling anything, most boss battles require using the bosses strengths against it or the environment to drop the boss. Some enemies need the same strategies. Enemies like the Scribes and Power Soldiers are resistant to normal gunfire and require you to change your way of attack when facing them. The AI itself is a mixed bag. While some enemies will blatantly stand out in the open for you to pick off, other will hide behind cover to take pot shots at you until you aim at them, when they will retract to cover, peaking out to see if your still aiming at them. Pretty much every enemy battle you'll fight, at least one of them will toss a grenade in your direction. Usually, their grenade aim sucks. I've had enemies throw grenades at the wall in front of them and blowing half their team up, while other enemies will run out of the blast radius of your grenade. Like Call of Duty though, you can always throw their grenades back at them, especially since they take almost 3 seconds to detonate. So yes, the AI can be very stupid, or they can be fairly intelligent. Just like humans, so hey. Maybe they did plan on that. Doubt it though. Oh, and I feel I should mention that some of the later boss battles will make some of you rip your hair out. They aren't simply "cheap"...they're pathetically cheap, if that adjective can even be used in context here.
After you've upgraded your more powerful weapons like the Kar98 rifle, enemies will begin to dismember depending on where you hit them at. Just like Fallout 3 and Soldier of Fortune, the limb removal is a neat aspect, but it doesn't change the gameplay in any way. As a graphical feature though, the enemy's animations when hit in certain areas are pretty entertaining, and strangely realistic looking. Some will just drop their weapon and slowly drop to the floor. Others will grab their neck and drop fast if you shot them below their head. Some will just flop over. I liked the different animations based on hit detection in the game. It somehow made it feel more like I was fighting a 1942 Nazi then 1991 Wolfenstein 3D nazi.
Another graphical feature, and arguably the coolest one is the look of the Veil. When you click the "Veil" button on your controller and travel to the Veil, all the walls and roads and enemies are coated in a different, miscolored look, sometimes glowing, sometimes radiating, sometimes simply a pallet swap of color. Seeing the Veil's floating bomb creatures suddenly appear and disappear is a pretty neat thing to see, as are the bullet-time effects when you utilize the Mire power of the Veil, or the bullets reflecting off your invisible shield. I'd say thats the best feature of the Veil. Looking cool. Some guns such as the Tesla and Particle Cannon share some of the same "blue lightning" effects used in the hot spots of the Veil. They work.
The graphics otherwise are fairly standard looking UE3 graphics. Shiny, detailed, and absolutely tolerable. In other words, the graphics aren't anything amazing or special, but they are better then most other games on the market. The detail in the levels is pretty impressive, the expansive Nazi fortresses or the large town squares without any noticeable pop-in. Technically speaking, the graphics were perfectly sound, with very few noticeable glitches. The fire, though...it could have used a little work. The flamethrower makes up for it though. The characters sometimes look a bit funky though, and I've seen the same character fighting side by side with their same character model multiple times. Not to mention that every Nazi looks the same. But that is fairly standard in video games.
The game benefits from the music and sound effects, though to be honest they are forgettable. I can almost assure you there will be no songs in this game which you will be whistling, humming, or even remember after the single player is over. The sound effects are the same way. Uninspired, but they certainly work. The voice acting goes from mediocre to horrific, with BJ being the best voice in the game. Still, thats not saying a whole lot, honestly.
Whoops, wrong game. Though you wouldn't know that just by looking at the name.
I'm afraid I won't be able to comment on the multiplayer at the time. This isn't because I can't play it, but any match I get into thus far has had extreme lag problems, rendering it unplayable at the moment. The review will be updated when if I can be into any real matches.
Final Score :3.5/5
Summary:
Wolfenstein is the sequel to id's 2001, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The game's gunplay is solid and the weapons are cool, if fairly unoriginal. The super power you gain in the game called The Veil medallion is the high point of the game, boasting impressive and useful powers in the game, and are fun to mess around with as well. Enemies are varied, though some are rehashes of other enemies and some are downright stupid ideas. Bosses are the high points of the combat, and for the most part are a blast to fight against, specifically the last boss, which is partially a huge tribute to the original Wolfenstein 3D's mecha-hitler. Other bosses will make you wonder what Raven were thinking when they made them so difficult. The level structure is standard, and decently varied. There are many secrets in the game, and upgrading your weapons is helpful, though upgrading your powers isn't so much. The graphics are pretty impressive, specifically the Veil's effects, but its not groundbreaking. The level of detail is high for environments, but the characters look bland. The VOs are underwhelming, and the music is forgettable. Multiplayer has unacceptable lag problems.
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August 13th, 2009, 18:41 Posted By: McGarnackle
Developer: Blitz Arcade
Publisher: Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
Genre: Puzzle and Word
Release Date: 6/24/2009
Console: Xbox 360
Price: 800MS points
For anyone obsessed with the hacking mini-game in Bioshock, Atlus have released Droplitz, a game with a remarkably similar concept, onto XBLA which may be right up your street. The object of the game is simple: guide precious Droplitz of an unknown substance through a maze of piping, rotating each piece to funnel towards collection points at the bottom of the screen. If your pipe leads to a dead end you will lose your droplets. The more channels and branches you create, the more droplets you gain back.
At least the theory is simple. In practice the fantastically speedy depletion of droplets leads to one of the most frustrating game experiences of your life. Most aspects of this game are designed to cause annoyance or stress related injuries. For example, simply creating one section of pipe will not do, the high scores are achieved through linking pipes and connecting multiple collection points, which sounds like a great idea until you realise that most of the time this occurs by accident while looking for other possibilities. Meanwhile crafting a length of pipe from top to bottom will more often than not result in a dead end, leaving you staring at the Television in murderous disbelief, the pixellated equivalent of a kick in the balls. The end result is a game that feels as though you have no control over the action.
Classic mode consists of this style of play as you move through different themed backgrounds. The gameplay does not threaten to change at any point, just the colours and themed catchphrases which gawp over the amazing things you’ve accidentally achieved. Changing the difficulty simply makes the board bigger, giving a faster depletion time and adding no change of technique to the gameplay. However, despite the apparent complexity of the channel creation, the game is genuinely fast-paced and challenging offering a seemingly impossible puzzle that for a short time is rewarding. In the long term the game suffers from its endless repetition and lack of variety leaving very little replay value.
The addition of new game modes does not help matters either (especially given the lack of a multiplayer mode). Zendurance, if you haven’t already guessed, plays exactly the same as Classic mode but without the thrill of changing backgrounds. The idea is to survive as long as possible, which is galling in itself, particularly when you view the in-game acheivment ‘Survive for 5 Minutes’. I tip my hat to anyone who can complete ‘Survive for 20 Minutes’, let alone surviving the aneurysm inducing 2 hour achievement.
Power Up Mode allows the use of bombs to blow up parts of the board and replace sections of pipe. Admittedly this is exactly the same as both Classic and Zendurance mode in that the gameplay does not change. Power-Up mode, like Zendurance needs to be unlocked through high score achievements which is one of the games redeeming features. All difficulties, boards and modes are unlockable, giving a sense of achievement but relying on a ridiculously high scoring threshold at the same time. As a result this review does not contain the Infection mode which unfortunately is proving impossible to unlock.
Perhaps I am being too harsh on Droplitz. After all the game can be addictive and enjoyable if the technique is mastered but by making the simplest idea so complex this learning curve will take many frustrating hours that seem somewhat longer thanks to a shocking lack of variety in the gameplay. Droplitz is more fast-paced and deceptively challenging than most in the genre but its lack of variety, repetition and limited replayability, combined with gameplay that requires the reflexes of a cheetah on speed, leave you with a game that is more annoying than fun, failing to deliver what most other puzzlers (including its obvious predecessor, Pipe Dream) can.
Score: 2 out of 5
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August 13th, 2009, 17:42 Posted By: bandit
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has just announced a voluntary recall on the 4-Dock Battery Recharge Station. This battery recharging station was available from Target, Toys R Us, and Amazon.com under the Psyclone brand, or from Best Buy under the React name and has been recharging batteries, excessively overheating batteries, posing fire risks, and burning the occasional hand since they first went on sale in January, 2008.
Around 220,000 Wii peripherals sold in the US have been recalled due to posing a fire hazard and a danger to consumers.
The Psyclone Essentials and React Wii charging stations – which can recharge up to four Wiimotes at a time – have been voluntarily recalled, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reporting that "the battery pack can overheat, posing a burn or fire hazard to the consumer."
"Six incidents of overheating have been reported to the firm. Two consumers reported minor burns to the hand," detailed the CPSC.
The products were sold by Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy and Amazon, manufactured in China and distributed by Griffin International.
"Consumers should immediately stop using these recharge stations and contact Griffin International to obtain information on how to return the product and receive a free replacement," said the CPSC.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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