Put Your Hands Up Here Comes My DJ!

In an industry that has been said to be over saturated with peripherals for rhythm games do we really need a plastic turntable? People that don’t enjoy the gentle musings of Children of Bodom and Metallica would have to say: Yes!

Activision and FreeStyleGame’s DJ Hero is a game that still has you making coloured circles disappear much like previous Guitar Hero games but adds in the new functionality of scratching and cross-fader manipulation. Does DJ Hero have the replay value and fun factor to have it stand beside Guitar Hero though? In the words of Flava Flav, “CHECK THIS OUT!”

The Controller

DJ Hero’s controller consists of a spinning record with three buttons on it, a cross-fader that has slight resistance/click in the middle, an effects knob, an euphoria button (DJ Hero’s star power), and of course the standard native system controls shielded by a hinged compartment.

The controller works great from the hours I’ve put into it,  though I think that the effects knob and the euphoria button should be swapped as I find my hand knocks the cross-fader around while twisting. The disc itself spins very easily, sometimes on complicated scratching sections this can be bothersome as the buttons sometimes slip away from me. Being a right handed guitar hero player, complicated button patterns can be quite daunting as the hand positioning is awkward at first and having to press and scratch with my strumming hand can be quite tiresome.

You cannot play this game without the turntable peripheral which forces the $130.00 package on you. Or, if you are an Eminem/Jay-Z fan, the $230.00 package for The Renegade Edition.

Gameplay

DJ Hero’s learning curve is interesting. You cannot start the game without playing the tutorial which ensures the player knows the basics of the game. The only way to bypass the tutorial is with the unlock all code which disables all achievements. After the tutorial narrated by Grandmaster Flash you get to play 3 of the easiest songs in the game. The next tier however is significantly more difficult, I still haven’t gotten 5*s on some of those songs and it only gets harder from there.

DJ Hero compensates for this increased level of difficulty by making the game all about getting points, there is no way to fail (you can only fail yourself). Once you unlock later set lists such as The Scratch Perverts or Daft Punk’s Record Bag you’ll understand why.

DJ Hero’s set up is fairly simple and when watching a video of it you might find it appears to be very easy compare to the 5 lanes in Guitar Hero you’ve come to know.

The green track (left) represents record one, The red track (middle) are your samples, and blue (right) is record two. Using the cross-fader you have 3 positions you can be in: Left, Middle, and Right. On earlier difficulties scratching is non-dependent on what direction you move but on Expert not following the pattern of up or down will cause you to break combo.

Some things that set aside DJ Hero’s gameplay mechanics from Guitar Hero’s is the new concept of rewinding. Rewinds occur when you reach a 60 note streak and allow you to go back to a section of the song you’ve already played. How far you go back depends on how fast you spin the turntable backwards (as far as I can tell). Rewinds should be used as soon as you get them as you cannot store more than one.

The second feature of DJ Hero is the effects knob which can be used on sections with an orange bridge over the track. The faster you twist the knob, the more points you get. If you are familiar with the club scene you might like to slowly twist the knob for an interesting effect reminiscent of a real mixer setup with less points awarded.

Euphoria works like the star power in guitar hero however you can activate it after only one phrase is collected. Activating Euphoria auto-cross-fades allowing you to focus on button taps and scratching. However, if euphoria runs out and your cross-fader is not aligned properly you will break combo instantly.

While providing a challenge, DJ Hero’s game play is quite fun!

Who would’ve thought that scratching a complicated section would feel as cool as hitting a crazy solo in Guitar Hero!

Graphics

DJ Hero is a game about the club scene, so it features scantily clad female dancers, flashing lights, and of course DJs!

The Graphics are good for what they are, which is essentially Guitar Hero 5 but in the Club. Though, I doubt you will be paying attention to them much given the fact you’ll be concentrated on looking at the notes. One thing that could be improved is sometimes the DJ on screen doesn’t exactly do what you are doing with your peripheral. Maybe DJ Hero 2?

One thing to note however. is the great job they did on the Celebrity DJs. DJ AM (RIP), DJ Shadow, Z-Trip, and yes even Daft Punk all look fantastic.

Sound

This game sounds great! Even artists I previously hated (Black Eyed Peas, The Killers) have mixes I enjoy.

I especially enjoy playing the mixes involving KRS-One’s Jack of Spades and Daft Punk. It also should be mentioned that I have never been a fan of Jay-Z yet I keep coming back to his set list for more.

One downside however is the lack of electronica/dance music but the David Guetta DLC pack coming out on Tuesday (November 24th, 2009) will fix that.

DJ Hero boasts 93 original mixes so there is bound to be something you’ll like!

Multiplayer

Here is the downside of DJ Hero.

In my opinion it is a very anti-social game, when it comes to actually playing. While the Guitar/DJ Mixes can be enjoyable there are only 10 of them and the scroll speed difference seems to make playing them quite tiresome. This could however be corrected with the Hyperdeck code which for some reason nobody can figure out.

Online Multiplayer is a total wash since there is no ranked matches or indication of any reason to try to win against people besides an achievement/trophy.

One amazing thing though about online is that your score achieved in a pro face off match is transferred to your career- a feature that should definitely show up in future Guitar Hero games.

Given the fact there is no stand-alone turntable available I see no real reason to even consider playing anything but the single player campaign in this game- maybe a future DJ Hero game will address this.

The Interface

One thing that has to be said about DJ Hero, is the whole set up of  “Make a Setlist” is very confusing at first. You have to add mixes to play a setlist with the blue button rather than with green as we’d come to expect. As well there is no way to sort the setlist by title. You can only sort by mix author, intensity, high score, and stars needed. This makes finding one song out of 93 quite annoying. Also DJ Hero erases your lower scores even if they were on a higher difficulty than the one you achieved a higher one on.

Your best way of going about making a set list is going to quick list rather than using the “Custom DJ Set list 1/2″

Final Thoughts

DJ Hero is off to slow start much like the original Guitar Hero. Nobody would have thought a game where you play plastic guitar would get as big as it is now, yet many people scoff at the idea that anyone would want to play DJ Hero.

I say to you, try the game before you dismiss it! It’s one of the most refreshing, unique, and difficult titles North American rhythm gaming has ever seen.

DJ Hero is also a game that can be as difficult as the mix authors want it to be, they don’t need to depend on whether a band has a guitarist that can shred for hours for the song to be difficult- and if the final songs are any indication of what FreeStyleGames/Activision can come up with, expert players should be very scared for what’s to come.

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Graphics: 4.5/5

Sound: 5/5

Replay: 4.5/5

Codes for DJ Hero

DJHero.com

Related posts:

1. Guitar Hero and Activision Unveil DJ Hero Renegade Edition!
2. Guitar Hero Smash Hits and Guitar Hero on Tour Modern Hits in Stores Now
3. Guitar Hero 5 Brings Even More Versatility, Obsession to Fans

Wii got another sports game

There are enough sports compilation games out there for the Wii, in fact one could say the sheer numbers of them rival  the GameCubes lifetime library. Tons of games that deliver a sub par experience and are hampered with control issues- a shame really considering the Wii is built on hassle free controls. Today I’m going to take a closer look at a title that at may be a departure from your average third party offering- Decca sports 2.

Lets hope they expand on this for the next one

You see analyzing sport compilation games, especially on the Wii is a hard pill to swallow. You have to keep telling yourself that this title might be decent enough to play but your experience tells you that the majority of times you will be stuck with an utter travesty of  a game.

I’ll get right to the point, Decca Sports 2 is not that bad. In fact I would say it worth a shot and is a breath of fresh air in the stench of Wii Sport knock offs. What makes this title stand out are three simple things.
Firstly you have a game which has much better production values and almost seems like a homage to a sports channel. It is by no mean excellent but has enough of a design aesthetic to really carve an identity for itself.
Secondly the title houses 10 unique sporting events that have a couple of variations thrown into the mix and lastly this would be the first sports compilation game out there to be online (not all of the 10 games are playable online by the way). But is that all this title has going for it?

Gameplay
I won’t meticulously go over each of the ten sports and their gameplay controls but I will highlight all ten sports and talk in depth about what works and what doesn’t. You have: hockey, dodgeball, darts, tennis, speed skating, Motorbike road racing, synchronized swimming, mogul skiing, kendo, and the odd game of petanque.

nice ice

That is a lot of sport games and then you realize that the first game had just about the same number. Granted they were different sports but I wonder if they could have fit all the games from the first one, it wouldn’t be that hard either, overall the sporting events are an interesting bunch and some of which have never appeared on the Wii.

Control wise you will need just your Wiimote and nunchuck. The nunchuck makes uses of sports like dodgeball, hockey, speed skating, and mogul skiing. The rest ask you to use the Wiimote as is. Sadly there is no motion plus support here so if you were blown away by Tiger Woods and Grand Slam tennis then prepare to go back in time where true 1 to 1 motion did not exist.

It seems like a poor mans Mii editor. Notice the official Adidas logo!

Expanding on controls you will realize that they are very simple and for the most part understandably so. Road racing utilize the Wiimote held sideways, hockey has you shaking the Wiimote and using the directional stick for a pass, darts have the IR sensor point a cross hair at the board while you throw, and synchronized swimming has you shaking the Wiimote as if it is a rhythm game. Aside from speed skating and mogul skiing- which have you using the Wiimote and nunchuck to be shaken alternatively to get more speed thus straining your arms- the rest of the games have sensible control mechanics behind them. One gripe I had is how they handled Kendo which uses the Wiimote on its side and utilizes the D pad for movement, it just feels very constraint and clunky.

What works here are games like Hockey, Tennis, dodgeball, darts, and motorbike road racing. The simple reason why these sports work is how the core gameplay is utilized. Good controls and design lead to a game that you wouldn’t mind playing with your friends and even competing in single player leagues. They are simple enough but also have enough depth to be mastered.

Probably the most fun game on the disc

The online part is a bit misleading, you see not all of the ten sports make it online. You can only play dodgeball, hockey and tennis online. There are active leader boards and it won’t take you long to rise through the ranks considering it is based on how many skill points you nab, each win you receive skill points and every loss they are taken away from you. Single player is broken up into four sections – open play, league, tournament, and challenges. League play has you facing off against other AI leagues across all ten sports and does open up its options to national and global. Tournament on the other hand has you climbing the ladders for one particular sport. And then there are the challenges which take a particular aspect of one sport and create an event of it. A good example is hockey and taking out the goalie so it’s all about the shots or syncronized swimming and trying to perfect your rhythmic timing as you do breast strokes. The controls stay the same during these challenges but the gameplay may differ slightly.

There are no real incentives to doing the challenges or league modes aside from skill points and much needed practice. I hate to draw direct comparisons to Wii Sports but that title did set the bar. You don’t get to see a graphed approach of you skills nor are you treated to a medal collection that acknowledges you pro status. I just wanted  something to compete for, something that would expand the blueprint laid out by Wii Sports. I loved playing Wii Sports alone and that is not something I can say for Deca Sports 2. Leader boards are a good start but there needs to be much more. Unlockable content would have created that motivational factor as well.

Hockey and tennis were extremely fun to play, both these titles had a tad bit of a learning curve (about 5 minutes of a curve) but once you got the hang of it these games wielded the most fun. Tennis had a huge emphasis of tossing and then timing your connection when serving. By allowing forward and backward movement at the sacrifice of not being able to track the ball you are thrown into a game of risk taking. Hockey on the other hand was the most arcady fun sport on the disc. Try scoring 7 goals in 20 seconds fun. Seriously reminded me of Wayne Gretzky 3D hockey. Sure it won’t stack up to NHL 2k10 on the Wii but it beats the hell out of their arcade pond hockey mode. Shooting thankfully was allocated to a button press first which makes passing then shooting a sublime experience.
Both tennis and hockey are not to be missed if you get a chance to play Deca Sports 2.

No mogul skiing is pretty sub par.. not good

Graphics
The game has its own look and feel but you can’t help but wonder if Nintendo refused them the right to use the Mii images in the first place. Sure you can create your own team as I did(Snake, Vegetta, Reiko, Taki and Jill from RE) but the title begs for Mii integration more than anything. Its stylistic (simple and clean) approach is akin to Wii sports but instead your avatars have fully connected arms and legs. You would be mistaken to think its visual fidelity is better than a two year old sports game; reality is that Wii Sports looks much better than this. Granted Deca veers into territory that the former has not – with indoor arenas, race tracks, and an ice rink- and it does an impressive job at creating a lively environment filled with clever replay snippets and all but in the end it still falls a bit short visually. What hurts this title even more is the fact that most of the character animations are stiff and choppy. It is a sad realization to see some of these character move around like it were the early years of the N64. Sure sports like Tennis, Hockey, and Motorbike road racing are decent enough; the rest however fall miserably short and pull you out of immersion. On a cool note Adidas is a sponsor and you’ll be glad to see their brand of striped sports gear.
There are nice subtle effects like blur and some particle magic on the slopes but nothing to go crazy about.

Sound
Sound is fairly well done with a great intro and menu theme that might just get stuck in your head. Each sport often carries its own music and for the most part they sound like hybrid techno mixes. It strangely does a great job of keeping the intense competitive feel. There is no voice acting and the lack of an announcer does really hurts.
The characters for the most part are mute and don’t even have any authentic reaction sounds.
It is a standard job that could have been something much more.

I want more motorbikes

Replay
Well there is very little incentive to play this one alone. With no progress charting or different achievement style trophies to unlock your pretty much left just beating the computer AI- which has multiple difficulties thankfully. I do like the fact that there are multiple environments for a couple of the sports and the teams aspect adds to the competitive feel. I love the multiplayer as these games are meant to be played with people. Crack this open in a party and you will surly love darts and pentaque while titles like tennis and hockey may take a bit  of practice but can yield the most fun multiplayer experiences. The online system is a small let down by not having all sports playable but once you see how intuitive and simple it is to get online you will begin to see the workings of what I assume will be a stellar system in Deca Sports 3. I mean you have the friend codes still but now you have the option to join various rooms and play either quick or custom matches which is a big accomplishment for the Wii. Online play was smooth and refreshingly fast paced. Of our sessions we once came across a bit of slow down while playing dodgeball. Hockey ran smoothly and so did Tennis. Heck I competed against Hudson Entertainment (for the record hockey was a tie, dodgeball I won as well as tennis- cuz andPOP got real gamers!). It may be hard during some times of the day to play anyone online but blame the lack of people connected. With the exception of Brawl and Tiger Woods every online game on the Wii has atrocious wait times.

Replay in the end will be measured by how much you play this game with your friends and online, this is not meant to be played by yourself.

Verdict
Look at it this way, this title can be found for under 35 bucks, has ten sports games and utilizes simple controls that are essential for multiplayer. Its versions of  hockey and tennis are actually deeper and dare I say evolutionary in some respects. I will actually say that playing hockey reminded me of the good old days of Gretzky 3D hockey- and that’s a big complement- nowhere else could you score 2 goals with7 seconds left on the clock except here and Gretzky!
Deca Sports 2 even houses an interesting take on Tennis with a deeper emphasis on serving. This title for its price point and value is worth a look. It may even be good enough for your kid sibling. It’s no Wii Sports but Deca Sports 2 is probably as close as any developer has gotten so far.

Of all the 3rd party sports compilations this stands heads and shoulders above the rest but just below Wii Sports.

Gameplay   3/5
Graphics     2/5
Sound      2.5/5
Replay        3/5

Related posts:

1. Game Review: NHL 2K10
2. Game Review: NHL 10
3. Game Review: NHL 2k9

In yet another case of The Music vs. Acitivision, No Doubt are filing a lawsuit against the makers of Band Hero.

The suit contends the game “transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act,” and the use of the band members’ avatars far exceeded anything agreed upon in the contract, according to the Los Angeles Times. One aspect of the game allows players to manipulate their characters into singing songs by other artists, for example having lead singer Gwen Stefani sing “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones.

“While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones, the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes,” the complaint reads.

The complaint also claims Activision withheld information on the Character Manipulation Feature, and allegedly told the band after they had requested to the have the function disabled that it would be too expensive to do so.

Initially, No Doubt signed on to having their likenesses used for only three of their own songs in the game, but wound up appearing in more than 60 songs either as a band or solo. The lawsuit  asks for actual and punitive damages that are as yet unspecified, a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction stopping the distribution of Band Hero, as well as a recall of any existing copies.

The complaint argues the songs No Doubt appear on “include lyrics, contained in iconic songs, which are not appropriate for No Doubt and have not been chosen by No Doubt for recordings or public performances.”

“The band [members] are bitterly disappointed that their name and likeness was taken and used without their permission,” band manager Jim Guerinot told the Los Angeles Times. “They agreed to play three No Doubt songs as a band. . . . Activision then went and put them in 62 other songs and broke the band up [and] never even asked.”

As for Activision, they must be getting used to this sort of thing after coming under fire from both Dave Grohl and Courtney Love on behalf of Kurt Cobain when his likeness was used with the same Character Manipulation Feature.

Activision is claiming No Doubt’s suit is “without merit” and the company is now exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt’s obligations under the agreement.”

Related posts:

1. “Join The Band” and Take Centre Stage with Band Hero!
2. Carlos Santana Grooves in Guitar Hero 5
3. No Doubt To Tour With Paramore

That’s right, this coming week your TV will transform into so much more with social networking, music, and movies come alive on your Xbox 360.  Facebook, Twitter, and Zune video will launch November 17th, on Xbox Live.

Most exciting is instant-on HD video from Zune to be available to Xbox 360 consoles. “We’re delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members,” said Marc Whitten, Xbox Live general manager. “Xbox Live’s differentiator has always been our community, and we’ve already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview.”

As well, Xbox Live will be debuting a music games store specifically for games such as Lips, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band.

I am excited!

Related posts:

1. Two blasts from the past are coming to Xbox Live
2. Xbox LIVE To Introduce New Summer Games
3. SOULCALIBUR Released for Xbox LIVE

Adam Sandler once sang in The Wedding Singer,”All I wanna do is grow old with you,” which for many, whether we intended to or not, happened in the case of Mario and friends . Till this day, we can still see small children getting introduced to the ever flourishing franchise.

Who are we talking about? We are talking about the short, confident, Italian plumber who wears a trade mark red hat and overalls. Throw in his taller, more socially awkward younger brother who sports an identical outfit only in green. Also in the mix would be the dragon like figure bent on kidnapping a certain princess of the mushroom Kingdom.

Now Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach and many other familiar faces are back for another game. So what’s happening in the world of Mario now? There are so many examples that could be used to explain the whole situation but the most simple is one quote:

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Like in WWII there was a common enemy that wanted to take over the world. As in the textbooks, two opposing forces will become one in order to overcome this greater evil. Whether they wanted to or not, they’re going to inadvertently work together.

Enemy: Fawful

Goal: Save the world so life can go back to normal.

Well at least they get the job done, unlike Aquaman

At the start of the game, we quickly debriefed about the situation of the Kingdom. It seems that the citizens have developed a sickness which occurs when the victim is exposed to a Mushroom called “Blob Shroom”. The victim inflates to a tremendous size and rolls around without control of what direction. With the situation getting dire and the cure not becoming apparent, a plan of action must be made in order to bring order and peace back.

So, a meeting is called, and in attendance is important figures like, Starlow a representative of the Star Sprites, Princess Peach and of course the Mario brothers. However, their meeting was cut short by non other than our favorite Villain King, Bowser, who ruins the meeting. Of course he’s not welcome in the meeting and is thus kicked out. Such a quick defeat for our friend Godzill…. Bowser.

Now with Fawful as the antagonist in this game he has two problems to deal with.

1. Mario and Luigi
2. Bowser

How does he deal with them? Well kill the head of the beast and the rest will fall? His kooky plan: Make Bowser eat everyone that could possibly put a fight against him. His assumption, the oaf can be defeated easily with him and his infinite knowledge. As in the traditional stories, the saying never give up, never surrender comes into play. That is exactly what we see because they need to find the cure and save the princess by kicking Fawful butt. Everyone is of course is safe in the belly of Bowser and so Mario and Luigi do their part by helping Bowser out from the inside when the going gets tough.

How does this story play out you ask? Well give it a try and see if it’s your cup of tea. For now, shall we get into the nitty gritty of this title? Hear, hear! That’s why we’re all here!

Gameplay
It can look nice and all that jazz but does it work well? Beauty and no brains can still equal to an enormous flop with the people. Being the bearer of news, this game has an excellent grasp of where it needs to be and how it should play out.

Burn baby burn

As you play the game you are given control over Bowser, Mario, and Luigi. Playing as either Bowser or the brothers really is an experience. The battle format remains the same as you enter into battle as one or the other party. It is all simply choosing the attacking and pressing the button at the exact moment to make the damage larger against opponents. For special attacks it varies from the different choices. Memorizing game where you must remember which barrel each brother is hiding within to have a greater damage. While some other attacks are more on controlling the character to catch certain items.

To help out in the heat of battle are badges, certain combination can really get you out of tough situations. The gauge meter for it depends on how well you perform an attack, the more excellent hits you get the gauge goes up. When the gauge is filled and when the time is right you can activate it and either receive more health, or more power with each hit. It all really depends on which badges you combine.

When playing are the brothers you control their actions with the A and B button.  For example pressing both buttons simultaneously will make both brothers jump. Or pressing them one at a time will make one brother act first. As you get further into the game more actions such as going underground and gliding will be added to the list of actions available. The triggers at the top allow you to choose which action to use.

For most part though a lot of the game is played as our favorite baddie. All his actions like Mario and Luigi are on the X and Y buttons, changing his actions are controlled via the triggers.  When playing as him there are few little perks that have been added.

Like mentioned earlier this game is about co-operation between the three. On several occasion Bowser will need help from the brothers whether he knows it or not.  Having earned the ability to eat enemies which will be dealt with swiftly by the brothers.

This gives the "keep your enemies closer" quote a whole new meaning

Aside from switching fights from time to time between them. For Bowser there is a special Giant Battle mode, when playing there will be a few battles where you face the enemy as a giant. The controls are at its best really. Unlike the regular battles where you press buttons in correct time in order to have a greater attack. You are given the opportunity to have a more interactive battle. Throwing a punch would require sliding the stylus across the screen as quickly as possible. And my personal favorite breathing fire has you breathing into the mic. Although I did run into a few problems with the response with some of the touchscreen games which made it difficult for me.

The battle system explained, we can take a look at just how everything really does work in the game. Everything being a whole point A to point B, the whole story progresses with getting past certain obstacles of course. Getting past them is always a unique experience, aside from the typical boss battles there are many mini-games that will greet you along the way. For example to make Bowser boost up in order to further the story, as Mario and Luigi you must find a way to stimulate his muscle. The mini-game encounter is one that depends on you to hit the energy orbs into the muscle in correct order which also requires timing. At times though the sheer amount of mini-games really can leave a person weary. There were just too many of them for my own liking.

Graphics
What is there really to say? The graphics look great. At first glance you would assume that it’s the same ol’ thing. But second glances are well worth it as you see that the movements of the characters are smooth. The designs of the characters are well done and look superb really. My only problems with the graphics were during the giant battle mode, with the characters looking slightly pixilated. Aside from that there are really no big complaints about how it looks. I really loved the victory poses they struck every time they leveled up.

Sound
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.  They most certainly didn’t do anything drastic to throw off long time followers of this game. Mario and Luigi are still speaking gibberish in the game although it is really entertaining to listen to them as other characters really tell us what the two are saying. Each character making their own specific sound to simulate them actually speaking as the speech bubble appears above them. Although I’m not really fond of Peaches voice in this one, something about it is unpleasant and annoying to my ears. Sound effects from jumping from one point to another, using the hammers and other actions still haven’t changed.

When it comes to the music itself in the game, you won’t mind listening to these tunes throughout. They don’t ever become boring; they become tunes that simply get stuck in your head. The music has also been carefully selected to fit the mood or the moment. Music was perfect in my ears.

Replay
In terms of going over and replaying the game again and again and again. There are many extra things that you could go back to try and find such as beans and scattered puzzle pieces. There’s even a challenge area which consists many of the challenges from earlier in the game.  Although there are many things to go back for, at moments during the game you could turn back and look for these items and do these challenges. It never is too late to go back and find those items. There really isn’t much to go back for and one would only do so out of the sheer love of the story.

Verdict
This has got to be one of the best Mario games out there. The script is amazing and even I was surprised when a few giggles escaped from me when playing. Controls are easy to get hang off and despite being a new Mario game it takes a lot from the older games and improves upon it. Although there are a few minor problems and an awful lot of mini-games, it is something that can be overlooked because this game is just that great. With the gaming taking out a good 20+ hours of your time, Mario enthusiast will positively love his.

Gameplay   4.5 /5
Graphics      4.5/5
Sound               5/5
Replay         3.5/5

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The collectors set

The most anticipated scifi game will finally be released January 26 2010 in North America. As is the standard these days, a collectors edition has already been announced.
The Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition comes in a tin case, a beautiful 48 page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2″ book, Mass Effect Redemption comic book, and a bonus DVD with the making of videos.
Adding to the mix are going to be exclusive armor and weapons that cannot be purchased anywhere else.
This remarkable set will retail for $69.99 on the Xbox 360 and $59.99 for the PC.
If you ask me this is one sweet deal.

Related posts:

1. Mass Effect 2 Launch Date Announced, Pre-order Bonuses Too!
2. More Mass Effect 2 Details, and a Video!
3. Dark Horse to Turn Mass Effect into Comic Book

Activision Blizzard created an organization for charity called Call of Duty Endowment to help veterans combat unemployment. Endowment will direct resources to organizations helping soldiers transition to civilian careers.
The organization is created with a goal to raise and donate millions of dollars and help raise awareness of veterans unemployment. A portion of Modern Warfare 2 sales will go directly to CODE and since the game has already been a runaway hit it is safe to assume they are on their way to making a difference.

Related posts:

1. Modern Warfare Finally on Wii
2. Game Review: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. Activision Announces Worldwide Release Date for Call of Duty 4

I drew this.. really I did!

Hello readers, it has been a while since I’ve gone on a rant. Truth be told I have been thinking of different ideas to write about. I figured since most sites talk about what is out these days and what our dear readers played, I will go the opposite route in a segment called “What you should be playing”.

The idea is to look at whats been happening around us in the wild world of video games and then pull out a title from the past(or future if possible) and tell you why a certain game is worth your time and money.

Take Halloween for example, all the horror movies around you and the constant imagery of ghoulish characters would make you want to play a good horror game right? YES!
Hey I’m not asking you to conform! Just suggesting that with the themes around us what game takes the best advantage of that.

So if Halloween is about scary things (and candy)then a good horror game is due right? Right!
Halloween just passed I thought I would give out my person take on what you should be playing..er..should have played.

Scary games are a dime a dozen these days but finding a good one is a hard task indeed. Fall has always been an odd season in my book, just the dreary atmosphere can be quite suited for staying inside and playing a good game.
What you should be playing this week is a good scary game just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean your scary game quest should be. Here are my picks

1 Dead Space – PS3/XBOX 360/PC- released October 14 2008
This was my game for Halloween last year! Quite possibly one of the most scary games out there.
The graphics and production values are second to none, developed by the fine folks at Visceral games, Dead Space had a crew respond to a distress signal aboard the USG Ishimura – a large interstellar mining ship.

Those creatures are messed up.

You take on the role of an engineer name Isaac Clarke who arrives to find most of the ship abandoned and eerily quite. Turns out most of the crew have been stricken by a virus that turns them into monsters known as necromorphs. this virus has some occult origins and soon enough it is your task to go through this insanely large vessel and reactivating its key functions as well as trying to decipher what went horribly array.
The mood and ambiance of this game is just amazing. Truly playing this alone in the dark (after 1 am) with the sound turned way up is scarier than any horror movie out there. Whats even more cool is that you end up utilizing mining equipment as weapons to take out these truly hideously freaky creatures. Think a head shot will stop them? Think again. Dead Space builds on what Resident Evil 4 started, by decapitating their dangerous limbs you have a better chance of killing them.

Notice how the ammo count is an in game hologram

This is a true Scifi horror game- it almost feels like a dreary version of event horizon. Tons of enemies and an amazing variety of locations aboard the ship will leave you at the edge of your seat. This is survival horror at its best.
You can probably pick it up for real cheap these days since it has been a year old.

Tons of tense momments.

It is all these factors combined with a smart HUD that increases the level of immersion and forces you to be compelled by this beautiful title.
Go get this!

2. Resident Evil 4- GameCube, PS2,Wii edition(recommend) Jan 11 2005 & May 31 2007

Yea I've heard of Lord of the rings, whats your point?

Maybe you don’t want the full blown horror and want a bit of action in your gameplay. Or maybe you just don’t care for futuristic settings and weaponry. The RE series has been the true innovators of horror games and the fourth installment is a series is quite possibly the best. With a new over the shoulder view a better inventory system and some truly interactive environments this is the horror game that inspired a whole lot of next gen shooters.

You know this was actually toned down for the Japanese version.

Would you believe Cliffy B of Gears of war fame was in love with this installment so much that it is one of the games that inspired the critically acclaimed shooter.

It is true, RE 4 was a last gen title that played out like a next gen game. It had some of the most atmospheric environments ever seen in any game, dreary villages, murky swamp lands, Gothic castles, ambient cavers- the list can go on and on. The visuals still hold up today as a testament to the artistry at Capcom. Compared to this, RE 5 is a step backwards. This title had copious amount of gore and horror packed into it and an action packed campaign that lasted almost 16 hours. RE4 is the best Resident Evil in the series if not the genre of survival horror. So why don’t you revisit this gem? Play it again! If you haven’t? Where have you been for the last 5 years? Go now and play this!

Your numbers mean nothing to my rocket launcher

So which version you ask? The Cube version may be the original but I will tell you nothing compares to the Wii edition. Not only does it pack the additional content of the PS2 port of the game (released after the Cube version) It retains the stunning look of the Cube version. Oh and did I mention it uses the IR sensor and revolutionizes your aiming? Well it does!
RE4 is  still the gold standard for action horror games

Honorable mentions
Hey those two up there are my personal picks, but if you don’t want to dive into them because they don’t tickle your interest then how about renting Dead Space Extraction for Wii- a co op on rails shooter take on the franchise that isn’t as scary as it is action packed. Not that? Then try out Resident Evil, the remake version for the GameCube (Now out for the Wii as well)This remake takes that old formula and uses some of the most realistic pre rendered backgrounds ever. Truly awe inspiring! Or maybe go with a game that has the autumn theme going for it like Batman Arkham Asylum, it’s one of the biggest and best surprises of this year. Truly excellent title that even has a couple of chilling moments.

Either way GO FORTH AND PLAY!

Related posts:

1. Game Review: Scooby Doo! First frights
2. Gamer’s Mind Blog: Gaming at a glance, fighter’s edition
3. Gaming At A Glance : My Nintendo Rant.

I woke up at 6 am to realize the comic I was working on was left at a friends house.
This comic is time sensitive, so I decided to do what is the fastest recreation ever.
Forget my terrible art, know it was done in less than 30 minutes.
The point of the comic is important, since tomorrow is officially Modern Warfare 2 day!
For some reason there are people playing the game all too early thanks to a couple of retailers.
These retailers will do anything to get you to buy games from them. Anything.

Enjoy!
Oh and next week expect a MUCH better comic.

Click on the image for the full sized glory.

Related posts:

1. Outer Panel Haven. 9
2. Outer Panel Haven. 8
3. Outer Panel Haven. 7

Oh Scooby what are you searching for?

A trick or a treat?

With Halloween just passed I can’t get enough of scary games. You see last year my friends and I all got together and played Dead Space for the PS3. Sure it was a single player experience but we took turns and only played the game after 1 am every Friday leading up to Halloween. It was an insanely fun experience.

This year I got Scooby-Doo! First frights for the Wii. Now it’s no Dead Space but if you think back to when you were a kid(like 6 to10) I’m sure you wanted a slight chill of Halloween and not the full blown horror we all seek these days.

Gameplay
Scooby Doo! First frights is developed by Torus Studios and comes out for the Wii and DS. The main quest is broken down into four episodes with each containing upwards of four levels to complete.

The best way to describe it is linear progression with a heavy dose of collecting Scooby snacks. Along the way expect to search for clues fight bosses and beat up countless baddies, it’s standard stuff, nothing here is  really inventive nor innovative. That would not be a bad thing if the gameplay mechanics were solid, sadly they turn out to be more of a chore. Linear levels with tons of invisible walls are a bad start but then to add hordes of mindless enemies that are as fun to beat up as a bag of sand is just adding to the frustration. The combat mechanics are simple enough with two attack buttons and a charge up, it will get boring really fast unless you use Daphne-who does a Liu Kang bicycle kick! Now I was a big fan of the original cartoon and its half baked attempts in solving puzzles and piecing together clues yet those moments in the game are relegated to bashing items around an area to literally find “puzzle” pieces that become a clue item. I understand this is supposed to be a kids game but maybe a little more effort could have been made in creating something that could channel the spirit of the cartoons. A bit of point and click or other exploration elements in finding clues would have been amazing.

Man up Fred! You can learn a thing or two from Daphne

The other problem is with the actual platforming and camera. The game relies on a fixed camera that gives you a three quarters view from above and is relatively functional for the most part. The game however has this nasty tendency of going into a 2D view angle for some of these platform areas and often times it is just a bad choice. Especially since most of the platforming elements tend to go into the Z axis. The characters don’t seem to be designed with platforming in mind either since they jump and move in a very loose manner. This makes for some truly messy platforming.

To add to the plethora of game play experiences are the obligatory chase scenes that play out like the old Crash Bandicoot sequences,  it seem the people at Torus are fans of Naughty Dog. These sequences for the most parts are fun and feel right at home in Scooby Doo!

In terms of controls the game does a decent job of keeping things simple and fun- you can play with the nunchuck or even the classic controller. I played with the Wii mote and nunchuck where you can jump with the A button and perform attacks with the B button. Your characters special moves are assigned to the Z button and C lets you switch between the two characters in each level. You can do the classic butt stomp by double jumping and pressing attack. Certain characters like shaggy can even reflect projectiles with their special attack button. The character swap mechanic isn’t as deep as you would think since it’s relegated to simple level navigation. Now here is where the context sensitive moments come in – pressing Z lets your specific character do their special ability.  Scooby can go through doggy doors, Shaggy uses a Yo-Yo to swing and hit switches, Fred can push and pull large objects, Velma can hack computer switches, and Daphne can shimmy across pipes to reach far away areas. These elements help the gameplay but are not used enough or cleverly implemented. Now you wouldn’t have to do all that switching if you play co op but trust me the only way I would play co op is if my young cousin wanted help with the atrocious platforming. Again the game at its core is very simple and at times the same mindless set of actions are repeated level after level. The game after all is very linear.

Wasn't this a Loony Toons gag?

Is there a silver lining? Sure there is! The game uses costumes not as a skin but actually changes your characters visual functionality. Take Shaggy as an example, he has a space suit costume that shoots out laser blasts instead of his standard slingshot and double jumping activates the jet pack. Granted the functionality isn’t enough to be called an upgrade but I just adore the details. Then there is the solving of the mystery; you see whilst playing the episode you meet the locals of the area and by the episode’s end you have to decide of the three people you meet who was behind all the shenanigans. Choose the wrong one and there are no consequences but just having them in a line up and kids guessing “who done it?” is a nice touch.
It is small feature that makes me smile.

Graphics
In terms of production values the game is certainly packing some heat and the graphics aren’t that bad. Sure it uses low polygonal designs cleverly to create a very stylized look but you will be amazed at the versatility of the engine. Some of the stuff in this game is truly exceptional, the ambient lighting and some of the skyline vistas are just beautiful. The same could be said in the diversity of scary locations as this game skips all the typical settings and creates some truly inspired locations-granted they aren’t original settings but they are different from the usual mix of haunted mansions.

The character animations are decent but some of the important animations like jumping look as stiff as they are to control. It is evident that this is a last gen game but they try their best to deliver. The indoor areas are always littered with tons of geometry and often times  you may be forgiven to try and check out an object that ends up behind an invisible wall. Again I was really impressed with some of the background work- just play the second episode that has you jumping on parade balloons to get to the toy factory and tell me you weren’t a tad bit surprised.
The entire cast of Mystery Inc has been wonderfully recreated in their adolescent form, adding to that some unlockable costumes and you have a title that will try it’s best to keep things visually interesting.

Looks like you are on your own Shaggy

I’m actually in love with the intro and menu screen since it seems to be inside a small cottage with Scooby and Shaggy, just the movement around the cottage is nothing new but it goes a long way to say that the devs made sure to keep the feeling of the series alive in every visual aspect. This game won’t win any awards for its visual fidelity but it does do a great job and packs amazing production values that we have rarely seen on the Wii (aside from the stellar first party games).

Sound
The game has the standard music selection that compliments each area very appropriately, the cinematic showcases great voice acting with the help of classic canned laughter. Sadly these do not make it into the actual gameplay where we are treated with repeated taunts by our heroes and some incredibly annoying grunts by the baddies.
I really was expecting a lot out of the audio portion of the game to enhance the cartoon’s feel but it does an ok job and nothing more. Compliments again to the cinematic voice acting with canned laughter- just make sure there is more of that in the actual game.

Replay
With about four episodes and four levels each- it’s a good kids game that is over in about 5 to 6 hours. Even young kids who have played their share of video games will manage to finish this with relative ease.
Unlockable costumes and trophies are a nice addition but fail to offer anything beyond an aesthetic change. There isn’t a whole lot motivating you to play again.

Verdict
I have to keep telling myself that this is a kids game and I then catch myself wondering if as a kid would have enjoyed this. For a scary theme game First frights does a very decent job with particularly stellar production values but it is when we take the scary theme and cartoon license away do we see the core gameplay and how it relies heavily on its  license. For every great production value related moment we are treated to some mind numbing gameplay. A rental for the fans and maybe a buy for that little kid who can’t wait to play Dead space when he is old enough (yes let’s try and enforce the rating system people).

Gameplay      2/5
Graphics        3/5
Sound         2.5/5
Replay        2.5/5

Related posts:

1. Game Review: Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
2. Game Review: Wolfenstein
3. Game Review: Tak and the Guardians of Gross.