Game Review: Okamiden (DS)
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Posted on March 15th, 2011 by
Okami was my Best Game of the Year for 2006. It was originally on the PS2 and later ported to the Wii. In the Zelda-style game, you played as a white wolf deity and had to save ancient Japan from evil. It featured beautiful unique graphics that looked like a Japanese painting and clever gameplay gimmicks like the Celestial Brush, which allowed you to draw on the screen to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Now, finally, the sequel is here on the Nintendo DS. And it’s good. VERY GOOD.
Kinect 1st Impressions
Posted on March 11th, 2011 by
I think the Kinect is a terrific technology, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone, I was a huge Eye Toy for PS2 advocate and motion gaming has always loomed large in my career. Back then I called the Eye Toy “the Nintendo product Nintendo didn’t make.” The Wii proved Nintendo had ideas like this but now, I think, their thunder is stolen. Microsoft owns the “movement” genre and that might be bad news for Sony and Nintendo. I haven’t tried the PlayStation Move, so I might be off base, but what I see in Move is Wii 2. Wii 1 was great, but the motion controls never really felt vital outside of the major showcases like Wii Sports. Kinect, requiring no controller, isn’t limited to doing things the Wii way. That could be crucial moving forward.
Dance Central
Posted on March 9th, 2011 by
I can’t dance. Oh, I can keep a beat and I can move well. If choreographed, I can pull off everything but the athletic stuff. My problem is a lack of confidence coupled with an inability to remember current dance moves. If I’m at a wedding (or presumably, a club) I cannot do anything but flail around biting my upper lip. Since I’ve learned so much from gaming, I wondered if there could be a game solution. There was Dance Dance Revolution, and it was great, but it’s footwork and has nothing to do with arms, so it’s not actually dancing. The Wii maybe? Better, but still limited. The Kinect and Dance Central changes everything.
Game Review: Bit.Trip Flux (WiiWare)
Posted on March 2nd, 2011 by
The downloadable Bit.Trip series on WiiWare has always been about a combination of old-school gameplay and visuals, steep challenge, and chiptune music. With Bit.Trip Flux, the series returns to its roots with a new take on the classic paddle and ball style gameplay.
Game Review: Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle (PSP)
Posted on February 27th, 2011 by
Available on March 8, 2011 for PSP and PSN, Phantom Brave is a strategy RPG that turns everything you know about the genre upside down! Play as Marona, a young orphaned girl who has the power to communicate with spirits. Her guardian is Ash, who died trying to protect her parents from evil, and is now a phantom. Ash and Marona use their powers to help people so they can earn money to buy their island home. But soon they’ll end up saving the world in the process!
Game Review: Hyperdimension Neptunia (PS3)
Posted on February 26th, 2011 by
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a typical turn-based Japanese RPG with a not so typical storyline and characters. The premise pokes fun of the video game business and its companies and consoles. A land called “Gameindustri” is ruled by four Goddesses, each one loosely representing a major game console maker (Wii, 360, PS3, etc.). One of these Goddesses, Neptunia, is cast down to the world below. Now as a human, Neptunia must use her transformation powers to defeat evil and unite the worlds in Gameindustri.
Game Review: Ys I & II Chronicles (PSP)
Posted on February 24th, 2011 by
Ys (pronounced ‘ease’) is a popular series of hack and slash action video games in Japan that have been around for more than 20 years. But many gamers in the US aren’t familiar with the Ys series. Now you can play remakes of the games that started it all with Ys I & II Chronicles on PSP.
Game Review: Back to the Future: The Game, Episode 2: Get Tannen! (PC)
Posted on February 20th, 2011 by
Last time we left Marty and Doc in the Back to the Future point and click adventure from TellTale, Marty went back into the 1930’s prohibition era to rescue Doc Brown. After a run-in with Tannen’s gangster grandfather “Kid” Tannen, Marty and Doc safely return to 1986. Only to find that they altered the timeline somehow so that “Kid” Tannen never goes to jail and Marty’s grandfather Arthur is bumped off by his goons. Now, in order to avoid a present-day crime ridden Hill Valley run by Biff Tannen and his new brothers (not to mention Marty never being born), Doc and Marty must travel back to the 1930’s to make sure “Kid” Tannen gets arrested by Jennifer Parker’s (Marty’s girlfriend’s) grandfather, Officer Danny Parker!
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Cary’s Capcom Crash Course
Posted on February 18th, 2011 by
Well, I just got Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so the next two blogs from me here will be about the characters you can play as so far! Since I know a lot about Capcom characters, we’ll do them first.
The Games of Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
Posted on February 10th, 2011 by
The recently released Mario Sports Mix for Wii is a collection of four arcade styled party Mario themed sports games. So in this blog, we’ll take a look at each one. Don’t think of this as a full review, though. Just my general first impressions of the game. I’m so busy right now with other things I don’t have time for a full review, but this’ll do for now, I think.
