Just a few short weeks ago, we sent our kid reporter on the scene (well, teenager now) to make his annual pilgrimage to BlizzCon (with his mom, of course).  Here’s what he thought of the action…

On October 21-22, 2011, Anaheim, California was flooded with Blizzard fanatics from around the world, there to see Blizzard’s world renowned convention: BlizzCon! Every year thousands of people around the globe gather in the Anaheim Convention Center for a sneak peak at what Blizzard is engaged in at the time, complete with panels, demos, and free stuff. I was among the crowd, weaving my way through the masses, toward the convention center, speculating about the new World of Warcraft expansion that I had heard nothing about yet.

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Tags: Misc, Reader Reviews!

Since I’m nearly local, I make an annual journey down to Indianapolis once a year to visit GenCon, one of the largest gaming conventions in the U.S., and one of the most important for board game and role playing game fans.  This year, my family conveniently scheduled a reunion for the same weekend but I still managed to attend for the first day of the convention.  What follows is a small excerpt of some of the more interesting games I came across.  For details on some more obscure titles, visit my photo-centric overview over at the blog Opinionated Gamers.

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Tags: Unplugged

Nearly every computer RPG owes its roots to the pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons game. Unfortunately, D&D has not always fared as well when brought into the digital realm. Some versions drew critical acclaim (the Gold Box series, Baldur’s Gate, etc…) but still others were more lackluster. The newest electronic entry, Daggerdale, falls somewhere on the spectrum between the arcade dungeon romp series, Gauntlet, and the more complex (but still a dungeon romp), Diablo series. Targeted at multiplayer gaming, allowing up to four players to play at once, Daggerdale provides a fun Gauntlet type experience along with the joys of “leveling up” one’s character, however it fails to completely grasp the gripping story or depth seen in larger games like Diablo. If you come to the title looking for some lightweight fantasy gaming action, it will serve you well.
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Tags: Game Reviews

In GamerDad’s recent review of LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, he glowingly relates how the newest installment in the LEGO adventure series just may be the best yet. I wanted to join the chorus and second his recommendation of the title for fans of the LEGO series, fans of Pirates of the Caribbean, or for anyone who is looking for a great two-player cooperative family game.
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Tags: Game Reviews

Movie franchises that make their way into the video game world are all often the electronic equivalent of a Happy Meal Toy. Sure, it incorporates the new and exciting world of the movie to just out in theaters, but when it comes to play time they quickly tossed aside for other tried and true favorites. Thankfully, the new Cars 2 is the exception rather than the norm. While the last Cars game, Mater’s Tall Tales, was somewhat of a disappointment, Cars 2 redeems the franchise by delivering a good Kart racing game with solid tie-ins to the movie’s plot.
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Tags: Game Reviews

Perhaps the easiest arcade genre to translate to the Wii home console is the point and shoot type hunting game. Dino Strike, by Zoo Publishing, is one that mixes hunting with that perennial favorite, dinosaurs. Dino Strike is a simple hunting game on rails, where the players shoot nearly everything on screen while the game controls the screen movement. While its story mode is somewhat short, it makes a pretty good game for the younger gaming set. It isn’t perfect, but would make a good budget title selection for younger gamers who would enjoy the mix of simple gameplay and dinosaur theme.
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Tags: Game Reviews

When it was released as a small bonus section to The Orange Box collection of Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, Portal received such critical acclaim that many gamers bought the release primarily to give this new game a try. Based around the use of a portal gun that can generate two linked openings in any wall, allowing free passage between them, Portal remains one of the most unique games of the past decade, in a genre that can best be described as puzzle-first-person-shooter. Portal received such high praise that it spawned numerous discussions of the debate of quality over quantity among video games. Some worried that the stand-alone sequel, Portal 2 – which recently released, would not stand up to comparison to the dark humor-laden, but short original. However, the new Portal 2 does not disappoint. Containing much more content than the original, at least as mind-stumping puzzles, and perhaps even more humorous material, Portal 2 is a recommended purchase for nearly any video gamer.
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Tags: Game Reviews

It’s February, you say? I can’t write a Game of the Year article unless it’s early January? Well, I have two things to say to you. First, how do you know I didn’t write this last month and am only posting it now? Second, writing a “Game of the Year” column in early January doesn’t do justice to any title that released in December. Less than one month isn’t enough time (well, for a busy person like myself) to put a new game through its paces to see how it lasts. Any Game of the Year title needs to be awarded to games that can stand the test of time. Perhaps it should be like wedding thank you notes, one has a full year after the fact to get them in the mail!

OK, so on to the “awards”. While I’m a pretty diverse gamer in some respects (I now officially own most of the main consoles and handhelds), I do shy away from a major category, Shooters. I don’t mind an action/arcade title from time to time, but I simply don’t enjoy running around trying to peg virtual people/zombies/aliens in the head with some sort of new zap-gun. If there are enough story and RPG elements, I may pick up a trigger, but in general I’m looking for something more cerebral or simply family fun-oriented than can be found in most modern shooters. Let’s start by taking a look at the best I found for each platform.
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Tags: Misc

I’m a bit of a quirky guy, so it is rare for a video game to surprise me by displaying humor that matches my own style. However, Little Big Planet 2 is a platformer that just exudes cuteness and humor without having to resort to bright cheery saccharine colors and shapes. Instead we’re treated to a nice little platformer about poor little Sack-boy just trying to survive in his world full of junk. I’m sure the whole idea wouldn’t hit me as hard if I had been jaded from playing the first game in the series. However, as a newcomer to the title (and the PS3 in general) I can easily state if this is the type of exclusive game content I can expect on the PS3, I’m glad I recently brought my family into the PS3 fold.

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Tags: Game Reviews

Who doesn’t want to be a superhero? From the earliest days of role playing games, options for playing a superhero began to crop up. Once hit fantasy-themed online role playing games appeared, it was only a matter of time before the superheroes arrived as well. First was City of Heroes, which was followed a few years later by Champions (which licensed the Champions name and background from my favorite pencil and paper RPG). The newest game on the block is DC Universe Online, which is the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) to boast a license from one of the superhero comic giants. Yes, you can play in the same sandbox as Superman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and others all on your PC or PS3. I suspect catering to the PS3 resulted in fairly simple button-smashing styles of combat and a somewhat underwhelming ability to customize a character’s powers. While some games have issues at launch I found the PS3 version to be nearly unplayable, and can only recommend the PC version for superhero fans looking for a lighter-weight experience or simply have to be able to fight alongside Superman while saving the world.

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Tags: Game Reviews