Tackling Castle Crashers and Bionic Commando Rearmed

Hello everyone, just writing in to let everyone know I am still gaming and do plan on throwing down further reviews, later this weekend expect to see Castle Crashers or Bionic Commando Rearmed thrown up, maybe both if time permits. I've been very busy as of late writing lots of C++ code, so I ask any who may be a fan of this little blog to stick it out and keep checking in. There will be updates, and I will do my best to keep you all entertained and informed. I hit my first benchmark of over 100 views! Next up, 200!

Geometry Wars 2: Started Recreational, Ended Kinda Medical

Here I am taking on another big XBLA title, this being the sequel to Geometry Wars. If you've never been, Geometry Wars is the kind of game that will hook you with its gameplay and suck you in with its trippy visuals. These same visuals will also draw anyone else who happens to be in the room as they'll wonder what in the hell is going on, if you're even playing a game, and if you are how you're still classified as alive through all the shapes, sparks, and wild colors that are abound.

So how do you play it? It's quite simple, the left stick controls your ship, the right control stick shoots your gun depending in what direction you're pressing it, and the left and right triggers are bombs if you're getting swamped and just need some help so that you don't die and lose a life.

The original was highly addictive and the sequel asks for 800 MS Points but throws down 6 different modes. Let's discuss them briefly.

Deadline throws you into the pit with three minutes and infinite lives and you just perform and keep playing and honing those three minutes to perfection if possible. King has you jumping from safe zone to safe zone, the only areas you can fire from, and these zones only exist for so long so you must traverse space dodging enemies and getting into that next safe zone. Evolved is the game mode that you were given in the first game, you earn lives and bombs at certain score intervals and you go until you can go no longer. Pacifism has you flying around with no weapons at all, but rather explosive gates that you fly through, and you do such until you die. This is probably my favorite especially when throwing on a favorite album of mine, I can sit and play it for hours. Waves has waves of ships flying horizontally or vertically at you, and it continues to build and build so you have to be quick at eliminating the old waves or clearing holes in the waves to dodge around in. Finally there's Sequence which is a sequence of 20 stages, each a predetermined pattern of enemies, and you see how far into the sequence you can get, whether you live through it all or die you see what your final score is.

This game also has 4 player local competitive and co-operative modes, haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but I've heard it's insanely fun and addictive just like the single player stuff.

There are a few new enemies, but one of the bigger nuances is the addition of Geoms, which enemies drop when killed. This is your multiplier and until you've lost all your lives you get to hold onto it, this provides a much different way of playing the game. In the first game you just had to kill and dodge, now you're asked to still do that but also risk yourself a lot more to collect the glorious Geoms which will disappear after a certain amount of time. Basically, you could be amazing at playing it the old way but you'll always be beat by someone who maybe can't survive as long but knows how to collect Geoms successfully. The final layer is the online leaderboards, if you have a bunch of friends who have this game, the leaderboards will keep you coming back for more and more, so that you can snag those almighty bragging rights. Also while you're playing any given mode in the upper right corner is the next persons score who's ahead of you, so you're always glancing at it and trying your best to survive just a little bit longer to beat that persons score. 800 Points was a very fair price for this game that could last you as long as many $60 retail games out there on the market.

Geometry Wars 2 is a satisfying, frenetic, twitchy, and addictive game thanks to its onslaught of enemies, crazy HD vector visuals that will put you into a trance, and 6 modes of fun with plenty of lasting appeal locally and online. Get it for yourself first, then branch out and play with others locally or try and smear your best friends score for kicks.

Final Verdict: Buy

Braid: Journey Through Time (Of My Life)

So here's my first XBLA review, and what a doozy I have chosen. Braid is a cross between the platforming of Super Mario Bros., the puzzles of something like The Incredible Machine, and some time turning twists depending on which world you are in. The game revolves around Tim, who is searching for a Princess, before entering each world you're given a few pieces of text to read. This isn't your regular guy saves Princess routine here. The text talks upon relationships, and that line everyone walks when in one. Tim has made a mistake of some sort, it's never outright said, but Tim learns his lesson but unfortunately the damage is irreversible. While the story is brief, there's just the right amount of it and it keeps you hooked. You feel for Tim and you're left wondering what's going to happen.

The gameplay here is fun and engaging and also at some points can hurt your noodle. In each world the object is to collect 12 puzzle pieces, by putting these puzzles together it's the only real way to gain closure and see the Epilogue. The first world Time and Forgiveness plays out like a standard platform game with the ability to rewind time if you die. But even in this world you'll find a few puzzle pieces that have brilliant solutions on how to obtain them. The second world is Time and Mystery, this world has certain objects that are unaffected by rewinding time and the puzzles revolve around that. The third world is Time and Place, this is one of my favorite worlds, here time is linked to your movement in the world, as you move left time is moving backwards, and as you run to the right time is lurking forward. Some very cool and difficult puzzles here as well. The fourth world is Time and Decision, here after you've performed something, if you rewind time back to before you did it, there exists a shadowy version of yourself who will go and do what you just did, so in this world there are some very clever clone type puzzles. Things that require two people to accomplish, yourself and your shadowy former self. The final world Hesitance, provides Tim with a magical ring that you can place at any time and surrounding it is a bubble in which time is slowed down to a crawl. I found the final world to be the most difficult and it made me scratch my brain a few times.

The game has beautiful backdrops that appear to be hand painted, the little characters all animate well and the the game has an amazing soundtrack, one that I will be looking out for if it's ever made available. I can definitely see myself doing work and listening to the soundtrack, very serene at times, very moody at others. Great instrumental stuff. It definitely captures that feel of Tim's quest to find the Princess.

I've only beaten the game last night, so I will definitely run through it again at some point. The ending is ambiguous so I won't spill my interpretation of it, but I am curious to read the others out there. I'm not sure what the creator Jonathan Blow has next up his sleeve, and I know he's issued some complaints with the Microsoft certification process, but I really hope this is not the end for him. He's already said he won't be doing more levels or a sequel for Braid, but I hope a few years from now there's something new of his to be played. From what I heard the development team on this game was 2 people, and you would never be able to tell from playing it. It's got a heart and soul to it and goes beyond the expectations of what an XBLA game can be.

Braid : 2008 ::Portal : 2007. While the two games are nothing alike, I feel that analogy must be made, if you sat down and played Portal and it sucked you in for the brief story and unique gameplay and left you wanting more, then Braid will do that for you this year.

Final Verdict:Buy

Soul Calibur IV: Boner Factory

So maybe when you first saw Yoda and Vader, you thought let's gather up the family and button mash each other and have a grand old time. Well, Mom, Dad, be ready to ponder why every female has the largest possible milk mountains known to man in the polygonal realm and get ready to cover little Susie's eyes as she wonders if that's what she's to look like as she grows up, and speaking of growing, Little Timmy just grew a pair in the process. As far as I know this is the first time feeding bottles this size have hit the PS3, but I know for a fact that the 360 audience has seen hood ornaments like these before. If you've ever popped in a Team Ninja game then you know what I'm talking about. But I must say as I stood before Ivy, her sword/whip in hand, I wondered if she knew that right below her face were two Zeppelins primed and ready to race.

So beyond the chest physics is the game any good? Yes, I'm happy to say very good. You're given a choice of 33 characters if my math is exactly right, which it may not be, but also given the chance to create as many fighters that you would like. While the creation system isn't that chock full of items, there may be enough to craft some characters you wish had been placed into the game. Perhaps you could craft a normal looking female and write up a back story of how she entered the Soul Calibur universe to unleash upon the women and men of the land and undo the deeds of the evil plastic surgeon. Or you could go the complete opposite route and edit a pre-existing character, so many of you will probably pick your favorite vixen and toss her into the ring sans the skimpy clothes she already had.

There's Story mode which is self-explanatory, you run through 5 stages each containing a couple of opponents and then you're granted with an ending cutscene and a sentence or two of text, plot shouldn't be why you pick this game up. There's Arcade mode which is also fun. I spent the majority of my time in the Tower of Lost Souls, which has you fighting special battles to gain rewards. At first you may only go up but once at LVL 20, you can then descend as well. Don't worry, there really isn't a visual castle you're running around in, more menu selecting and then battling. You can play some characters with a button-mashing panache or you can sit down and learn the actual moves, either way you'll have fun. The other cool part is that these rewards are pieces of equipment which you then throw on and get better or different statistics or special traits. Stuff like more health, or a poison touch on the end of your weapon that drains the enemies health after striking them with it. That may seem like something that would offset the balance and flow of the fights, but in the Tower of Lost Souls you're asked to sometimes fight 6-8 people with only 2-3 characters and they also have these sorts of attributes and a health bar that goes beyond the normal amount.

The new addition to the fighting system is the Soul Gauge and the ability to do a Critical Finish. Your Soul Gauge starts out green in a match and while you obviously want to block you don't want to just sit there blocking all day, so to prevent this your Soul Gauge may go from green to red, in which your armor may break off or if it goes red and flashes, your opponent can instantly finish you off with a Critical Finish. It's a Teen rated game so don't expect fatalities like in Mortal Kombat, in fact if you're fighting someone who knows what they're doing these shouldn't come up in battle all that often. It keeps the fights frenetic and fast paced.

Finally rounding out the package is online play over XBL, you get thrown into a little party of 4 and as in the old arcade days, the winner stays on to keep fighting, the loser watches the next fight until his turn comes up again. I didn't experience any lag and this also will give the game some extra legs once you finish the Tower, see every characters ending, and don't have anyone beside you to fight.

I was really hoping the SC Universe would encompass even more well known big screen characters, but if it's any consolation every female comes strapped with Thelma & Louise. That's right, when it came to reviewing a game like this, I had to throw down the euphemisms. You all would have done the same. My job here is done.

Final Verdict: Buy

Soul Calibur IV: Still Alive

Not a full review or anything yet, still need some more play time but this is more a post to prove that I haven't croaked and neither has the Soul Calibur series. I'm really digging the latest entry after being disappointed in Soul Calibur III. I'll write up more on the latest when I get the time, not sure where all my time is going and has gone. But if you really want a notion of where my review will head, it's looking to be a buy. I haven't had this much fun with a fighting game in a long while. I'm playing the 360 version so I got Yoda, who I'm not finding that great an addition to the SC universe. I tried him out but from here on out in my playing I'll be sticking to the classic and new SC additions sans people crawling out from the Star Wars universe. More to come later....

E3 08: Nintendo & Sony Press Conferences

I can sympathize with these poor chaps above, they're the core gamers and just look how excited they are. It's almost palpable. Let's dive right into the other two conferences.

Nintendo once again took the casual money making route, I can't really fault them for what's bringing in the mad cash. If I had a home and portable console that printed money, I too would do what they did. Alas, since I don't have it as good as they do, and I haven't really been a huge fan of the way games are going on their console, I found myself mostly bored and pondering exactly just how much dust I can expect my Wii to gather in the next coming months. Madworld is slated for 2009 so I can't look forward to that, I think all I have is Megaman 9 and perhaps some VC titles like Super Mario RPG.

So what did they announce? Shaun White Snowboarding kicked it off, I don't have a balance board so scratch that off, also it didn't look all that thrilling and fun. Wii Sports Resort, which also is slated for 2009, not that I'm looking forward to throwing Frisbees to a dog anyhow. It comes with Wii Motion Plus however which is supposed to make Wiimote movement in games 1:1. To be honest, some demonstrations looked 1:1 but some of them didn't. Also, thanks for further segmenting your market Nintendo, now 3rd party developers have to ask themselves if they want to utilize the Wii Speaker, the Balance Board, the Wii Zapper, the Wii Motion Plus, perhaps pull a Samba de Amigo and come with peripherals of their own. Like what the hell guys? I won't be picking up Wii Sports Resort but I'll look into the Wii Motion Plus if and when a good lightsaber game is created or the Mario and Zelda teams show something off that utilizes it in a way that excites me. I'm not a fan of Animal Crossing so the new Wii title did nothing for me, I find no pleasure in decorating a town and chopping down trees and fishing. I definitely don't want to do it with other people, I would feel terrible having dragged them into the mess with me.

On the DS front nothing exciting, another Guitar Hero game which apparently is selling like hotcakes so good for those guys. A GTA title is coming out, but I've yet to see the DS pull off a completely 3D game that I enjoyed thoroughly. Finally the man himself, Miyamoto came out and there was all this darkness and fog and smoke and everyone was thinking Kid Icarus, but no, the big unveil was Wii Music. Everyone they had out there playing and messing around with their products were all so damn cheery, so I thank them for the Diabetes. Hopefully they're cooking up a Post-E3 Wii Insulin product for me. It also ships with a new peripheral for the Balance Board, some comfy Diabetic Socks. Thanks Nintendo!

Enough about them let's move onto the next disappointment, the Sony Conference. First off, Resistance 2 looks fun, although the demo intrigued me the first couple of minutes and then watching whoever was playing mozy around a building and a bridge while just shooting bullets now and then at the Leviathan dried up that well. As sad as it is, I give them props for making the charts and bar graphs the most interesting by using LittleBigPlanet. That game could revolutionize business meetings across the globe in a few years time.

They focused on the PSP which I zoned out during, then they talked a little bit about the PS2. I think the only title I'm left wanting to play for the PS2 is Persona 4. There was some PSN discussions, they're getting TV and movies like XBL, and there's a nice looking Ratchet and Clank game coming out in August I believe for $14.99. What else? Gran Turismo TV, I guess if you own a PS3, GT5:Prologue, and are a fanatic of cars, you'll enjoy that. Then it was time for more PS3 trailers, they treated the crowd to a CGI teaser for God of War 3 which surprised nobody that the game was in development and because there wasn't any game play shown I didn't get any excitement from it. They also busted out a trailer for inFamous which looks cool, I was a big fan of the Sly Cooper games. Finally they showed off a game which I hope for now is tentatively titled Massive Action Game. I'm guessing it'll be a mix of SOCOM meets Battlefield, they showed off what I believe was a CGI trailer so once again it didn't get me all that excited.

It seems as if the Internets are praising Sony for their conference but I was really disappointed in it. Still not enough games were shown off, especially in the exclusives department. What's Jaffe up to? Where's some footage of God of War 3? What's the ICO/SotC team up to? What happened to White Knight Story? Enough CGI/game play trailers, get someone out on the stage, put a controller in their hand, and start playing something that woos me and gets me pumped for the PS3. They defended their lack of titles because they have a 10 year cycle in mind for the PS3, so they went on about how you never saw the best PS2 titles until Year 3 or Year 5 or Year 7, etc. Lastly, drop the damn price, stop keeping the price at $399.99 and just cramming more things into the box to try and entice us to nibble at that price.

I guess I'm declaring Microsoft as the E3 winner just because what exclusives they have coming out this year showed more promise than the trailers I saw for Sony's stuff. Nintendo isn't even on the radar for me at the moment. Last year was about amazing 1st and 3rd party titles all being jammed into my temples during the 4th Quarter, I think this year is going to be just as good but is all about the 3rd party games. I'm not complaining and neither should anyone else, since that's the case it should be win-win whether you own a 360 or PS3.

E3 08: Microsoft Press Conference

E3 has officially kicked off and anyone who's a gamer has their eyes aglow as companies shows off and dish out what they'll be serving for the Holiday 08 - Spring 09 schedule. Microsoft held their press conference first and I'm just going to go over what I liked and disliked about their conference. Let's start with the positives...

They brought with them what seems to be another strong lineup of games for the upcoming holiday season, as far as their first party lineup is concerned I'm most looking forward to Gears of War 2 and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. I want to play Fable 2 but the new footage they showed didn't reach out to me and give me shaken baby syndrome as I'd hoped it would. Their third party lineup is as strong as ever, bringing over a once thought Sony exclusive, Final Fantasy XIII as well as promising that GTAIV exclusive content and Todd Howard announcing that Fallout 3 would also get the exclusive DLC treatment. There are far too many games to list coming from third party developers that have me excited, but it's nice to see that are a few exclusive titles to the system that should also be a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and I really hope that Rock Band 2 puts Guitar Hero IV to shame. No consumer out there wants 3 or more sets of plastic drums, I say 3 as if to include Rock Revolution, but I just more or less like including them into the fold as a joke onto itself. Have you seen that 6 padded disaster of shapes? I say Harmonix should be the ones to stay, they brought Guitar Hero to the market, then they brought the rest of the band into the market. Let them control the market, they'll do no harm.

I was ecstatic not to see a motion sensing controller that had been rumored since an interview about the latest Banjo Kazooie game. I'm so glad Microsoft didn't go that route, just let Nintendo have it, let's stick by the old standby controller. It's never let us down before. Finally, I like the idea of partying up with people on Live, I think up to 8 people, and being able to play casual social games like 1 Vs. 100 and also if the Party Leader is a Netflix user the entire party can watch TV shows and movies together. That's pretty damn cool. Anyone up for MST3K'ing some god awful movies? I'm totally down.

As for disappointments I'm not all that thrilled with the new look of the dashboard and the whole Avatar thing. Once again, let Nintendo and Microsoft dabble in it. I'm wondering what's going to happen to all the Gamerpics and Themes I spent Microsoft Points on, was that all just free money I've given away now when the new dashboard update rolls around? If that's the case, awesome. I'm not going to further rant about their other endeavors into casual territory, I think Lips isn't half bad since you can play music off of your Zune or iPod, but the rest that they showcased didn't wow or have any effect on me. In the category of games that have long been M.I.A. is Alan Wake, I really wanted to hear something about this game, maybe see some new footage and get a release date even if it was in 2009. Besides Resident Evil 5 there really isn't a whole lot known about what we can expect to play in 2009. Hopefully some RE5, Dead Rising 2, and Alan Wake if they're on the up and up.

Well that's all from me for today, feel free to leave a comment, did your brain asplode when FFXIII was announced? Mine tweaked for a moment. Next year I'd like to see Hideo Kojima both announcing that MGS4 will be hitting the 360 around Holiday 09 and that him and Suda 51 are also working on a game for the console.