The Top Ten Bioware characters

With their latest epic rpg, Dragon Age 2 now out, regardless of what you think of their games, it's hard to argue against the fact that they create wondrous universes filled with mostly awesome characters. Here in my opinion (in no particular order) are the top ten characters their epic games have produced so far:

10. Kriea: Easily the only actually interesting character from the rushed (and incomplete) but still very fun Knights of the Old Republic II, Kriea did her best to turn your character to the Dark Side, often presenting rather compelling arguments for doing so. And if you tried to turn her to the light? Yeah, she wasn't going for that, being one of the few Bioware characters in history you couldn't turn no matter how you tried.

9. Urdnot Wrex: Wrex could've been another brawny brute with not much in the way of brain matter, like so many other warrior race characters, but  there are some serious brains to go with that brawn, along with a real complex drive to save his people from themselves. It also says something when one of the biggest accomplishments in a game is how hard it is to talk him into not turning on you at a certain key point in the game, which makes him one of the more complex characters indeed.

8. Zevran: Being someone who is usually a rogue, other rogues importance as far as battle has always been dubious at best for me personally, so it's hard to vouch for his awesomeness in battle. However his hilarious dialogue be it flirting with Wynne till she is about to light him on fire or trying to help Alistair with his inadequacies in the sack, the random conversation snippets make him one of the funniest characters to keep around.

7. Alistair: Normally someone like Alistair would be the cocky self-assured hero. But Alistair is insecure, unsure of himself and very self-effacing, making him a great foil for many of the other characters. Plus he actually really grows throughout the journey in Origins into his own man capable of leading an army (or possibly king depending on how things go).

6.Varric: Easily the standout character of Dragon Age 2, telling the tale of Kirkwall's champion as he sees fit, and really it's up to you whether or not his story is truthful. Varric is greedy and ambitious, but also all about family, even family that traps him and leaves him (and subsequently you) for dead in the Deep Roads.

5. Morrigan: Whether its trading hilarious barbs with nearly all your party members, disapproving openly of your attempts to help others or just getting you (or Alistair) to conceive a possible anti-christ with her, Morrigan is a welcome respite from the usual party members that seem to be either completely good or complete bastards depending on how you roll in most Bioware offerings. She's not really bad per se, but like most real people she makes some questionable decisions in the name of finishing the mission and living to tell about it.

4. The Illusive Man: The only character on this list who is not a party member (though I've no doubt he could kick some ass if needed) the whole of the Illusive Man is an extremely compelling mystery. What are his true motives? Does he really care about humanity or is he just out for himself? Why doesn't he crush you like a bug if you don't do things his way? Only the briefest of hints are given about him at all, making him a compelling presence that hopefully will be plenty influential in Mass Effect 3 as well.

3. Garrus: The former space cop turned vigilante is one of the best all around party members for both Mass Effect games. He managed to piss off 3 separate gangs enough to convince them to team up to take him down(which they have little success in). Frankly he's just an all around bad ass, even after he gets half his face blown off.

2. Mordin: Easily my favorite Mass Effect character, Mordin is highly intelligent, funny and can kill you before you get within 100 yards if he so wishes. He doesn't kill indiscriminately but has no qualms doing so if it justifies the means. Pretty much every conversation with him is extremely entertaining, especially when he chooses to belt out in song.

1. HK-47: Easily the best character out of the KOTOR games, arguably the best Bioware character of all time, HK-47 is pretty much the template for characters that openly despise meatbags (i.e. anything living) and do it gleefully. He won't kill you for doing good, but he makes it pretty clear that if it wasn't for his programming he might just kill you for the hell of it.

All right that's the list. Hopefully another post will be up by Wednesday. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Hangover 2

Free Console MMOs?

You'd think with the launch of DC Universe, consoles would probably be years away from getting free MMOs. After all, only recently are they becoming a serious thing on PC, with nearly everything with the exception of WOW and a few others going to that model. It is a great way to nearly ensure at least a decent user-base to survive on, and many have found that model far more profitable, since people seem more willing to spend money on in-game goodies and bonuses when they aren't already being forced to pay a monthly fee.

But yet here we are. Yesterday, Free Realms was actually released on PSN to download. It's been available on PC for a few years, but now you can play it on your PS3 no charge. This is potentially huge, as why would someone pay to play something like DC Universe when you can play Free Realms? Well the immediate answer is fairly obvious much like it is with WOW-Something like DCUO offer a much more involved and deeper experience, though for those more casual players or people who just don't have the time (personally I haven't touched DCU since Dragon Age II came out, making me regretting buying that 3-month subscription because while I plan to get back into it, that probably won't happen til after it expires) it's probably a more enticing offer since there's no real commitment. Admittedly I haven't played any of the free rpgs out there, but if they start popping up on consoles on a regular basis I might.

PS3 owners aren't the only ones getting a free MMO either. Dungeon Fighter Online is supposed to be coming to the 360 at some point this year. Though whether that actually happens or this becomes yet another scrapped MMO idea is yet to be seen. It'll be interesting to see how this development affects the future of console MMOs. Many console gamers scoff at paying for anything beyond what you already get in the box as is, so something that's free to play may be far more appealing than something that has a monthly charge to it.

That's really all for today. I should have another post up this weekend sometime. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Infinite Tower RPG

FINALLY I CAN PLAY NINTENDOGS IN 3D!!!

No I haven't gotten a 3DS yet. I'm not really planning to in the very near future, but if you have gotten one I'm sure you're enjoying it immensely. Not really sure what games to get for your shiny new portable though? Kotaku has a pretty comprehensive list of what to get and what to avoid (Ghost Recon is getting surprisingly solid reviews, that might just be one of the big sleeper titles).

It took a little while, because in addition to being very sick, injured and working a lot, I still wanted to get through Awakenings, but I finally have gotten some quality time in with Dragon Age II. It's been the point of a lot of controversy, as people who loved the slower, more tactical approach and much deeper customization in the first game, not too mention the much lower average completion time (i.e. the first DA could run you anywhere from 40-60 hours, not including DLC, DA II seems to top out around 25-30). Now I'm about 9 hours in. I really enjoy the frantic combat, it makes for a much more involved affair and frankly you can be just as tactical as you can still pause to order around your allies, and give them very specific tactics to use in battle. Arguably the real let down is the lack of ability to really tweak your characters equipment. You can change out weapons and accessories, but aside from a couple of arbitrary upgrades, you can't touch their armor. I also like the cast quite a bit, Varric especially standing out as a favorite. I think it would be a solid choice any time, but admittedly this seems like a weak year for rpgs, what with only Mass Effect 3 & Skyrim on the horizon and those aren't coming out til at least November. So I would say this is a very solid choice for those of us needing a new rpg, which most of you probably do by now.


That's pretty much it for today, but I should have another post by Wednesday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Captain America

7 reasons you shouldn't buy a 3DS. Yet...

 
We are just a week away from one of the most anticipated launches of all time with Nintendo's newest portable, the 3DS. I want one, you want one. It's awesome, it's really hard to argue any solid reason why you shouldn't get one. Eventually. But launch day? Not so much, and here are 7 perfectly good reasons you should wait at least a little while:


7. It's too expensive: At $250, the 3DS is the most expensive portable Nintendo's ever launched. I'm not saying you don't get your money's worth, it looks like one hell of a deal. But $250 is pretty damn steep, and apparently the whole reason it's that high is because reaction to the system at last year's E3 was so overwhelmingly positive. So odds are once the excitement dies down a bit the price will too. And that's just the system. The games are running higher too, hitting the $40 mark. Granted, there's not really a legitimate reason to immediately declare a portable game not worth that much, but given the more casual approach you usually see in portable games, it does seem on the high side.

6. There's nothing good to play: Has anyone actually looked at the launch line-up for this thing? I mean sure Kid Icarus and Ocarina of Time 3D are not far off in the future, but you can always buy those later. The launch line-up is pretty much a joke. Pilotwings Resort? Nintendogs + Cats? Those are the big titles? Yikes. I mean sure, Street Fighter looks impressive, but fighting games just traditionally aren't all that great on portables.

5. Extra money for Advil: Though not  a universal experience, many people have experienced headaches playing this thing in 3D for an extended period of time, even to the extent that Nintendo has warned against little ones playing it in 3D at all. I'd prefer a headache-free gaming experience thank you, even if it requires glasses.

4. You might have to bring a book: One of the best feature of Nintendo portables to this point has been the battery life. These things usually last 10 or more hours on a single charge, long enough for most plane trips, bus rides, etc. The 3DS has a rather paltry battery life, even if you don't use the 3D, with things like wi-fi being enabled can drastically cut the battery power without you even realizing it. Hopefully Nintendo or someone will come with a battery extender because that seriously damages the travel possibilities with this thing.

3. See what the competition has to offer: And I'm not just talking about Sony here, though seeing how the NGP stands up to the 3DS in terms of things like price & software wouldn't be a bad idea. Phones, the itouch, tablets, even the massively more expensive Ipad all offer multmedia experiences along with a constantly improving selection of games (at a far more affordable price at least on the games side). Even Nintendo has said it's biggest worry is Apple, so there's probably good reason why.

2. It's a gimmick: I'm not saying the 3D doesn't look cool and that Nintendo won't use it in some pretty inventive ways, but how many 3rd party companies will actually use the 3D to enhance the experience, rather than just shoe-horn it in, sometimes to the detriment of the gaming experience? Well the answer to that question should be pretty clear if you look at the piles & piles of shovelware lining both the shelves of the Wii & DS sections. Odds are it will be awhile before a number of good quality titles are available for the system, if ever.

1. Bigger, stronger, faster: Ok, not necessarily bigger, but how many versions of the DS have there been? Not counting limited editions like the Zelda or Mario Kart ones, there has been a whopping 4 iterations of the 3DS' predecessor, 3 or which you can still buy in pretty much any gaming section of any store. Nintendo's portables constantly have new versions come out, usually offering a thinner package, better lighting, etc. So odds are this time next year we will either already have word of a new version of the 3DS or it's arrival might even already been emminent, making those people who had to have it right away already for some buyers remorse for not waiting for the newer, arguably better version.

Now obviously this isn't really a knock against the 3DS at all, it should be a completely awesome system and I seriously doubt anyone who buys one will really be dissapointed with it. But like many console launches, there are plenty of issues that if you wait a little while will probably be worked out.

FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: TSUNAMI FIGHTER

The banhammer dropped on Sony?

Companies sue each other all the time for copyright infringement, it's just part of business. Usually these really lead nowhere. Some agreement is made to pay somebody or the claims are unfounded to begin with and business goes on as usual. I think this is what we pretty much all thought would happen when electronics manufacturer LG sued Sony, claiming the PS3 infringed on several patents. Again this is nothing new, pretty much all 3 companies have been sued numerous times, most of the time nothing really comes of it. But surprisingly, this lawsuit may actually have some legs and far-reaching implications, as shipments of PS3s were seized and Sony is currently not allowed to import them into Europe. But this isn't something irrelevant to us Americans as LG is pushing for a ban here too. Will it succeed? Honestly if it happened across the pond there's a decent chance it could happen here. But does that mean that PS3s will cease to exist? I really find that hard to believe, as there's just too much money at stake here. They might become a little scarce for awhile, so if you were planning to get one anytime soon, I'd do it now just to be safe.

It's good to be king right? In Fable 3, not so much. Not only are you tasked with saving your people from a horde of evil monsters, but now someone is trying to outright assassinate you in the latest DLC expansion, Traitor's Keep. I'm not heavily invested in Fable 3 so I haven't played much, but the wife is completely obsessed so its pretty much a must-buy for me.

And finally the PS one "classic" Vagrant Story is on PSN this week. A lot of people are very psyched about this but I remember it being really overly complex and dull. Most of the reviews at the time it came seem to at least somewhat agree with my assertion but still gave it high marks anyways. I'll wait for the next "classic" thank you very much.

That's about it for today, I should be back Thursday or Friday with something else, but until then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Meaty Boner

I just wasn't Moved...

So my 60 gb PS3 died earlier this week after 5 pretty faithful years of service. I really had no plans anytime soon to buy a slim with a bigger hard drive, especially since I was using the 60 gb to play PS2 & PS one games. Luckily I have a perfectly good PS2 to keep playing those on (though all saved games are lost, doh!). But suddenly I was in need of a new system so I was heavily considering getting a bundle with Move. After all, this is clearly Sony's new focus, and it's certainly been advertised as motion control for the hardcore gaming crowd, supporting more serious titles such as Little Big Planet 1 & 2, Heavy Rain, Killzone 3, etc. So it should be an easy justification with all these fantastic games our now and many more down the pipeline right? Eh, not so much.

While the Move has enjoyed decent enough software support so far, none of the titles that absolutely require Move are remotely compelling, with the best of the bunch being the blatant Wii Sports/Wii Sports resort rip-off Sports Champions. The games that have Move as an option? Not really any noticeable improvement over your standard controller and in some cases worse. But surely, there's some really cool-looking stuff coming down the line, right? Ehhh.... I mean Move Heroes looks pretty promising, but that's literally about it. There might be some great software that they are holding off til E3, but that's a huge unknown. So I ended up buying a 120 gb without Move that should serve my needs for the forseeable future. Will I ever get move? Probably, but at this point Kinect has a much more promising future lineup, though it still seems like too much of a spaz fest to actually be fun.

On the bright side, I did pick up Radiant Historia and it's an extremely charming nod to the great 16-bit classics of yore. I haven't got a lot of time in yet, but the characters are pretty cool and the battle system id fairly fun and original. Anybody with a DS should track this title down (I had to go to 5 stores to find a copy) as it's arguably the sleeper rpg of the year already and a great way to fill time waiting for big epic releases (i.e. Dragon Age 2).

That's really it for today, but I should be back on Tuesday or Wednesday with thoughts on the new Fable DLC and other stuff. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Green Lantern Emerald Knights

There be Dragons....

The long-long awaited demo for Dragon Age 2 finally hit today. Now admittedly, if you loved the original Dragon Age, with its multiple origin and race options, this may induce some well-deserved nerd rage. You are human, male or female, and one of three archetypal classes (warrior, wizard rogue) and the combat is drastically changed, frankly being more reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII than any previous Bioware game. So anybody who was hoping for another epic along the exact same lines will probably be pissed. I do think it's a much needed change because while I enjoyed the original, the combat felt really worn out by the end, and I don't think more of the same would've drawn me in. I don't understand why you absolutely had to be human, picking from several races wouldn't be that hard to implement I would think. Regardless, I am fairly psyched and am anxiously awaiting the March 8th release date.

I also tried out the Lego Star Wars III demo, and as I feared, this is a perfect example of mining an idea once too often. I love the Lego titles, and really enjoyed the Harry Potter effort, so I'm thinking (and hoping) this is because there have already been 2 Star Wars titles, so hopefully when Lego Pirates of the Caribbean hits later this year it will feel a little bit fresher.

The official 3DS launch list is out. And man do I not care about any of these titles. It should probably be a law that a Nintendo system launches with one of their top franchises. Kid Icarus would've been a pretty obvious choice, but any of Nintendo's holy trinity (Mario, Zelda, Metroid) would've also been a fairly good idea. The $40 per game price tag also would make me consider what I would get a little more seriously. But I'm sure I will own one no later than a year from launch if I can swing it.

What was your first Zelda game? It might be time to reflect on that, seeing as how the franchise is 25 years old this week. I've played nearly every Zelda game and it's sort of amazing that (with the exception of a couple glaring mishaps) it's been a quality franchise for so long, with nearly every title being the standard-bearer for adventure titles that you just can't get on any other console. And with the very promising Skyward Sword hitting later this year, that trend of excellence shows no signs of stopping.

Today is a gigantic gaming week with two huge FPS games facing off. First up is the PS3 exclusive Killzone 3. While the series (and this latest entry especially) has earned solid enough praise, I have never really given a damn about it. The Helghast seem straight out of a bad B movie, and it just doesn't seem up there with the Halos, Gears, or Call of Duties. But admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of FPS games in the first place, especially the huge amount of darkly over serious ones.

So it would seem like something like Bulletstorm, the other big FPS out this week would be right up my alley. It's a huge slap in the face to all those deadly serious games, awarding excessive trick shots and being more like what most would imagine the new Duke Nukem might be like. But crass just for the sake of crass doesn't equal funny, and the other elements and fairly dull, so I really have no interest in it either frankly.

For those looking for something decidedly different from your standard shooter fare, you should definitely check out de Blob 2. The original, a Wii-exclusive was a criminally ignored fantastic color adventure reminiscent of titles like Jet Grind Radio. The sequel expands to all 3 home consoles, so you pretty much have no excuse not to at least give it a whirl.

And finally, looking for something more old school? The DS has you covered with Radiant Historia, a time-traveling rpg reminiscent of the old-school 16-bit rpgs of yore. This is honestly the title I am most interested, as I've been on the lookout for a new rpg with a classic style for months now, so hopefully I will be grabbing it later this week and be able to give some impressions.


Ok and that is it for today, I should be back Thursday or Friday with another post, until then here is your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK : Street Fighter LOA

Telltale, the saviors of the adventure genre?

It wasn't all that long ago that Adventure games (at least adventure titles in the classic sense such as King's Quest & Monkey Island) were officially considered a dead genre. Nothing had really come out of note for awhile, and gamers had moved on to more intense games (both gameplay and graphic wise) that tended to be less about solving puzzles. But suddenly, they started sprouting up again, with the revival of both Sam & Max and the Monkey Island series, from Telltale games. But Telltale has hardly stopped there, releasing Back to the Future (which is fantastic, if you have PSN buy it NOW) and soon to be releasing Jurassic Park titles in the same genre. They have single-handedly resurrected the genre, and thank god, as it's been sorely missed.

And today news comes of 3 new series Telltale will be making in the Adventure genre. Firstly, a series based on the comic book series Fables. Granted, aside from the basic premise, which is about fairy-tale characters living in modern-day New York, I know next to nothing about this series, but it seems ripe for an awesome video game adaptation and the adventure genre should fit well with it. The second is based on another comic book series that is also a hit tv show, The Walking Dead. Now a series about a zombie outbreak may seem like an odd choice for an adventure title, but anyone can play the Resident Evil games (more specifically anything before Resident Evil 4) and see that they are based in adventure games with having to use more than a gun to solve most of the problems.

Finally, and most excitingly, is a long overdue official revival  of the King's Quest series. Now the King's Quest games have already had something of a revival with the officially sanctioned, fan-made Silver Lining games, but this will be a full-fledged game made by people who obviously have a ton of experience doing this thing. This is easily one of my all-time favorite series, so I can't wait to see it given a proper resurrection.

Ok that's all I really have for today, but I will almost definitely be back Wednesday with thoughts on the Dragon Age 2 demo along with a few other things. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Rebuild

Doc, that's heavy....

FINALLY. Back to The Future is on PSN today! I have been working pretty much all day, so I haven't really had a chance to try it out yet, but the reviews were stellar for the PC release, so I'm very excited to try this out and will give a full report tomorrow.

I did pick up You Don't Know Jack. It's honestly kind of hard to judge the value here. It can be played online, which is cool, but playing with someone sitting next you is much better for the game. I really have an issue with the presentation though-The questions aren't random, just split up into episodes, which means they can get old quick. And given that it's such a simple set up, the number of questions seems kind of small, I mean they should be able to put thousands of questions on there, not under a thousand. Again for $30 it's not a bad deal, but I think I would've paid a full $60 for a much better package.

The first really huge release of this year, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 hit today. I'm not a huge fighting fan, but Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a game that to this day I can still play for hours if I happen to find an arcade machine, so I figured this was worth picking up. It doesn't have the massive roster that 2 did, but the characters are a lot more refined, and the promise of DLC may eventually grow the roster to even more gargantuan size than its predecessor. Plus it had DEADPOOL, which is just incredibly awesome. I was only able to get in a quick session but it's just as fun and over the top as it's always been. And Galactus is one hell of a cheap final boss, but that's part & parcel for fighting games. This should be an easy buy for anyone who is a fan of fighting games or Marvel for that matter.

Finally, a Bioware-endorsed Dragon Age web series starring Felicia Day? YES PLEASE! I really hope they put some serious money into the effects though, as arguably the most impressive-looking web series to date is Dr. Horrible and that wasn't all that huge on special effects. If they treat it like a cheap cash-in it will show and fans will be none too pleased. I'm already none-too pleased that this isn't coming out right now to help tide over the wait until Dragon Age 2 finally comes out in March.

That's it for today but I should be back either Thursday or Friday with a Back to the Future Episode I review along with a few other things. In the meantime here is your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Arthur

Get to Know Jack...

It's like a giant blast from the past. The last time I even saw this game was way back in the original Playstation days. It was pretty awesome then, but sometimes things really don't age so gracefully. So it has to be asked, is it worth going down memory lane with this Trivial Pursuit knockoff with an attitude? Actually according to nearly every review, it totally is. So hopefully I'll be picking it up relatively soon and can give my impressions.

I have downloaded and played a couple hours of Stacking. Now like most games from the mind of Tim Schafer, it's funny and endearing and original. Whether or not I would've paid $15 (I got it for free because of my PSN + membership) is debatable. Why? Because while it's fun, much like Double Fine's previous digital effort, Costume Quest, it's all over way too quickly, clocking in at just over 4 hours according to most reviews. Granted, you can squeeze a couple more out of fooling around with all the dolls and finding all the different solutions to the puzzles, but paying such a premium price for such a short experience makes me think twice about any future Double Fine offerings.

Is Bulletstorm immature, offensive and insultingly juvenile? Sure, but so are most of the people who are probably going to buy it. Fox news is taking it to a whole new level though, claiming its the worst game ever made and that it and games like it make people rapists. I really don't even know where to begin with this. I honestly thought this level of bullshit was more or less done when Jack Thompson was finally disbarred, but I guess you can never underestimate the idiocy of Fox news. It's just sad that anybody listens to them really. Assuming humanity survives long enough, at some point we are going to look at this kind of stuff as a true low point in human history.

Ok, that's really all for today, I might have another post up this weekend, we'll have to see if time permits. In the meantime, here is your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK : EPIC BUNGEE

Mario's got game...

Now normally when somebody shoehorns one of their mascots into another genre, it's a really crappy attempt to cash in. Fortunately with Mario, that's usually not the case (horrible Olympics games with Sonic not withstanding) he's starred in very well-made rpgs, sports games and puzzle games of consistently good quality, and now we have his latest foray into several sports with Mario Sports Mix. Arguably this is a great value as Nintendo probably could've made each of these a separate title and sold bucketloads, so throwing four together is a pretty good package. Obviously with more casual titles as this, you should probably wait until reviews hit, but odds are this will be one of the better multi-player Wii games out this year.

While I'm not all that fond of playing with dolls, Tim Schafer's latest project, Stacking, gets me pretty excited about it. As I've previously mentioned it's due out Tuesday (and FREE to Playstation Plus subscribers). And pretty much anything by Tim Schafer is well worth checking out for the comedy alone. It does seem like after a career of brilliant physical games that didn't sell, Schafer might finally have found his niche in the digital space as the excellent Costume Quest sold very well and Stacking looks to be yet another big hit.

Ok, though Mark Wahlberg is most likely set to star in (and consequently ruin) The upcoming Uncharted movie, he's not an absolute lock. This has lead many fans to campaign for Castle star Nathan Fillion (who himself has been campaigning for  the role). While Fillion would be a pretty awesome choice, I'd actually like to throw in a dark horse contender that would really fit the role without any possibility of the actor being bigger than the character (which Fillion just might) : Joe Flannigan.

Aside from looking a hell of a lot like Nathan Drake, Flanigan's character of John Sheppard, which he played on Stargate : Atlantis for five seasons, was essentially Drake if he was in the military. The same wit and cockiness was all there, it'd be a pretty natural transition. Just a thought I'd throw out there.


Ok that's all for today, I should be back either Wednesday or Thursday with a review of Stacking and whatever else is going on. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Captain America : The First Avenger:

Playstation Plus: Officially worth it....

Admittedly when I got myself a playstation plus subscription a little over a month ago, I was extremely skeptical of its overall benefits. I mean, discounts on games nobody cares about, free themes, and the occasional exclusive demo? Not really worth paying for. But just look at all the free goodies you've actually gotten if you signed up-Crash Team Racing, arguably the best Kart racing game ever not made by Nintendo-FREE. The latest season of Sam & Max-FREE. DC Universe Beta-Free. And we get another awesome freebie next Tuesday when the latest game from the genius mind of Tim Schafer (Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, Costume Quest), Stacking, hits PSN. This would normally be $15, you get it free if you paid for Plus. And really, we are just getting started since it's only February. Hopefully Sony really pays attention to this plan, because honestly at this rate it's perks are far better than xbox live's.

Dragon Age 2 is already a probable RPG of the year candidate (even if it is Mass Effect 2 with dragons, which sure as hell is not a bad thing). But if for some reason you aren't completely sold, a demo is coming on the 22nd of this month, complete with bonuses for the full game purchase. More companies should make demos like this-something that ties into the game, so we don't get some deja vu feeling going on when we play the actual title.

Enjoying DC Universe, but not psyched about the monthly fee? Well, they've just announced a special lock-in rate that starts on the 8th and runs through March 1st which is $29.99 for 3 months. Pretty good, but honestly I'd much prefer us PS3 players to at least have the option of a lifetime subscription much like the pc players have, but this is a good start towards keeping me invested.


Ok, that's really all for today, I will hopefully do another post Sunday, but my weekends are pretty hectic, so no guarantees. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Charlie Sheen Escapes from Rehab

NGP vs. 3DS-WHO YA GOT?!?!?!?

Sony unveiled their successor to the PSP, codenamed the "Next Generation Portable" (NGP) yesterday along with a whole mess of specs and upcoming titles. It does address some huge issues that the original had, namely the cumbersome UMD format being gone and adding a second analog stick. Sony is boasting it's nearly as powerful as the PS3, which sounds like it'll be costly. Sony also claims it'll be "affordable",  though what that actually means is anybody's guess. I think anything over $299 would be insane, and even that would probably raise more than a few eyebrows. Of course the underlying issue here is that support for the PSP was pretty goddamn anemic, with many titles cancelled and long gaps in-between solid releases. It's hard to say if anyone is going to even give a damn this round, but then again, last time everyone expected the PSP to completely dominate the DS. This time the NGP is the massive underdog, so who knows? I do know that I don't really care to play Sony's biggest console franchises on the go, they need some real original content to drive sales or this might even have a history than the go.

So I tried the Bulletstorm demo yesterday, and boy I felt like I had just played Duke Nukem Forever, or what Forever is probably supposed to be, as it was filled with gratitous violence and swearing and desperately trying to make you love every minute of despite coming out more like something that escaped from the extreme attitude of the 90s. I was mildly amused, but ultimately bored by its excess.

And finally, WATCH ARCHER SEASON 2! It premiers tonight, I'll probably watch it tomorrow online. And I should still have another post this weekend.

The 15 Best Animated Superhero Shows

Superheroes are awesome, it's just fact. And while live action seems to be the trend lately, animation is a much more natural fit to really represent them in the best way possible. So with that in mind, here are the 15 best examples of top notch shows pretty much anybody should be able to enjoy:

#15: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Far more goofy than their gritty comic book origins, the original Turtles show took a whole bunch of weird and made it work. As if the Turtles themselves weren't crazy enough in concept, adding brain-like space alien Krang and moronic minions Bebop & Rocksteady turned it up a notch. And yet for the most part it worked really well, managing to combine decent action with comedy really well. It kind of fell apart the last couple seasons, but few shows, animated or otherwise had such a strong run for such a long time, to this day they are still making TMNT, with a new show on Nickelodeon coming out this year, which speaks to the appeal and strength of this oddly fantastic foursome of ninjas.

#14. Freakazoid : Possibly the most insane superhero ever, winning most of his battles by simply irritating his enemies more often than doing anything remotely heroic. Whether he actually even qualifies as a hero is possibly in question, since he just does whatever he wants most of the time, mostly in an absolutely hilarious fashion, with completely awesome and random humor thrown in just for the hell of it.

#13. The Tick

While most of these shows do a pretty good job at poking fun at the superhero genre once and great while, The Tick managed to do it every single episode, be it the dim bulb hero or his equally ridiculous allies like Sewer Urchin and even more awesomely ridiculous enemies such as Chairface Chippendale. A still brilliant parody of the occasional stupidity of comics, this probably still reigns as the greatest superhero comedy ever.

#12. Darkwing Duck: Superheroes are supposed to be selfless, all about helping their fellow man, and don't really care for glory. That is not Darkwing at all. He's all about the glory, extremely petty, egotistical and selfish, sometimes dangerously so. And that's what makes him so awesome. But at the end of the day, he still beats the bad guy, making him one of the few heroes that usually can back up his huge boasts.

#11. X-Men Evolution: It'd be nearly impossible to try and outdo the original X-men series (more on that later), so why even bother? Granted, sending heroes back to high school is a risky proposition, but Evolution made it work incredibly well, bringing a great mix of stand-alone and arching storylines that would even stretch into the next season, which is extremely rare for an cartoon shows. It's a shame it only lasted 3 seasons, which didn't five it much of a chance at having a rich a deeply layered history like it could have.

#10.  Gargoyles: This is probably Disney's most ambitious animated series to date. It's has layers upon layers of character development and plot lines, it's dark, dealing with deep betrayal, murder, kidnapping, hate crime and other such non-kiddy fare. And being on Disney with this kind of subject matter, you knew it was only destined for a few seasons, but what a fantastic few seasons they were.

#9. Batman: The Brave & the Bold : It's an incredible accomplishment to do Batman as light and campy and still make it work exceptionally well, but that's exactly what the most recent Dark Knight series has done, being extremely funny and loaded with cameos from DC's vast B & C-list such as Blue Beetle & Plastic Man. It's also the only show to portray Batman as having an actual sense of humor, which while out of character for his more serious portrayals, works very well within the show.

#8. Batman Beyond : There can't really be another Batman other than Bruce Wayne, right? Nobody could possibly fill that role. Except what the hell do you do when Batman actually does get too old? In comes Terry McGinnis, who isn't Bruce Wayne, not by a longshot. But he's a new kind of Batman, for a new age, and it works, even beating the likes of Freeze and the Joker in his own way. Gotham doesn't always need Bruce Wayne, but it does always need a Batman, and Terry fills in the role very nicely.

#7. X-Men : Premiering the same year as Batman: the Animated series, this was one of the first attempts to do a real, serious cartoon show, and boy did it work. Arcs that ran over the whole show, a real continuity to the universe and the episodes, and the bonus of bringing some classic X-Men storylines to life. This was one of the first examples that animation and cartoons specifically did not have to be candy coated crap meant to sell toys and could be as good as anything on prime time TV. If it has any failings, it was that unlike the best shows, it was completely serious, instead of having a good mix of humor and drama.

#6. Spectacular Spider-Man : There have been a fair amount of Marvel cartoons over the years, several starring Spider-Man, this is far and away the best, managing to perfectly capture the personality of the wall-crawler while successfully taking a new spin on most of his villains and friends. Sadly this fantastic show lasted only 2 seasons, a fatality of the rights going back to Sony, which choose to go with a new show rather than keep the great original. Boo Sony.

#5. Teen Titans : This might actually be the funniest superhero series that isn't a spoof, giving the show an exaggerated anime style and most of the characters extremely goofy yet enjoyable and endearing personalities. Yet it manages to mix in some seriousness, most of it dealing with Robin's arch nemesis Slade but also dealing with things like Raven's repressed darker nature from time to time.  For pure entertainment and hilarity, it's hard to top this awesome 5-season run.

#4. Superman : The Animated Series: Arguably DC's most famous hero (at least until Batman's recent leap in popularity), a huge problem with Superman was that he was practically invincible, how do you keep that interesting? Bruce Timm managed to do it, making nearly every episode entertaining and the best representation of the Man of Steel to date.

#3. Avatar: The Last Airbender : Like many of the shows on this list, Avatar manages to blend drama and humor extremely well. What makes it stand out is that it's an original property that manages to create a rich universe and it manages to tell its story in three short but amazing seasons. It could've gone on longer (and sort of will thanks to an upcoming spin-off) but in the end it didn't really need to, it accomplished what few shows, especially cartoons manage to do in wrapping up all its key plots to come to a stellar and satisfying conclusion, making it easily one of the best series ever, animated or otherwise.

#2:  Justice League/Justice League Unlimited :  The original Justice League show was a great feat, managing 8 superheroes in compelling ways with great intertwining storylines for 3 seasons. When it changed to Unlimited, potentially incorporating the entire DC universe, it got even better, taking time to make us care about nobodies like Hawk & Dove, Vigilante, or the hilarious Booster Gold while still giving plenty of screen time to the big name heroes. Probably the most amazing aspect was continuity, even mining episodes of Batman, Superman & Batman Beyond for episode material.

#1. Batman: The Animated series: Arguably responsible for cartoons finally being taken as something more than kid's stuff. It was true to the source material, and actually made the comic it was based on better. Harley Quinn was an original creation of the show, Mr. Freeze was made a better villain, and so on. It managed to have great adventures, seriously dark moments, and even completely hilarious episodes. It is the standard-bearer, and probably always will be.

Ok that's the list. Don't really have anything else, but I'll probably be back Friday with another post. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Zombie Homerun

The need for Achievements?

Achievements. Everybody has them these days. Microsoft, Sony, World of Warccraft, Credit Cards. They are goddamn everywhere. And why not? It's obviously great to get some form of recognition for your work, they add extra value to games. But Nintendo doesn't use them and while its not opposed to it, seems to have no real plans to implement them anytime soon. Now granted, achievements should never be the reason you buy a game, that throws you into achievement whore territory. And while I rarely go out of my way to get some of the more challenging and ridiculous achievements, knowing that I get some sort of reward for doing something extra will usually get at least a few extra hours out of me, especially if it manages to be fun. Nintendo's philosophy seems to pretty much be that playing the game and exploring for extra content should be its own reward, i.e. if you get all the stars in Super Mario Galaxy, that's reward enough, you don't need a special reward saying so. And there's really nothing wrong with this philosophy, after all some sort of uniform reward system didn't really exist until the Xbox came along in the first place.

So then is there a right answer to this question? Well, why there is certainly nothing inherently wrong with Nintendo's philosophy the bottom line it is a feature that both Microsoft and Sony offer that Nintendo doesn't, so it may be a difference maker in what platform cross console games are bought on not too mention what console you may buy. Nintendo's not opposed to it, so even if it is too late for the Wii (and really, it probably is), they could implement it into the 3DS without much issue and whatever the eventual successor to the Wii will be. This is a company that claims it listens to its audience, and this is something all gamers, casual or hardcore, do want.

That's really all I got for today, so until next time here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Skateland

And your Batman 3 Villains are...

With Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway filling the respective roles. Anne Hathaway is a great actress, though whether or not she can do Catwoman justice is anybody's guess, as with most female superheroes, it's an incredibly hard role to get the right fit for. That being said, Nolan we shouldn't second guess any choices Nolan makes at this point. You could probably give him the Care Bears and he'd come back with the most awesome film ever. Tom Hardy as Bane is absolutely goddamn brilliant, because behind all those Venom-induced muscles is a brilliant criminal mastermind and Hardy is probably one of the few people who can bring both proper physicality and terrifying intelligence to the role. It's heavily rumored that regardless how successful it is, this will be Nolan's last Batman. I can see why, nobody wants to get tied to a franchise when they've got other things they want to do, but that leaves little possibility for his take on other great Batman villains like Mr. Freeze or Croc, so hopefully they'll be able to wrangle him into just one more film (hell after that Bale will probably be too old anyways and they'll have to get someone new or just start over).

The 3DS is coming out on March 27th for $250.  Granted that seems a little on the high side, but I bet that won't really slow sales down. It's not too high for my blood, but as with about 99% of other system launches, the initial line-up looks like complete garbage, so I won't be getting one launch day, but admittedly I'll probably pick one up after Kid Icarus and the Ocarina of Time remake hit, which is supposed to be later this year.

And yes I did pick up DC Universe Online for the PS3 this week. I had debated waiting til a few reviews hit, but I had a lot of fun in the beta and the first month is free, so what they hey. And even though I thought it would feel repetitive going through some of the same missions, I made a completely new character, which helped quite a bit. Now this is a game that's actually mostly built around end game content, so we'll have to see if it holds up on that end, but as of right now, it's a very fun title.

Finally, a direct sequel arguably the most polarizing Final Fantasy game ever, Final Fantasy XIII, has been announced. And that's all we really know at this point. No idea if it'll completely overhaul the battle system, feature new characters or what. While I enjoyed the original, it was not really have many of the qualities that traditionally define what Final Fantasy is. Here's hoping that's what they are attempting to do with the sequel.

Ok, that's really all I have for today, so I'll end it here with your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Tesla Death Ray

It's a Little Big Planet after all

It is indeed a completely awesome week to be a PS3 owner, with arguably the biggest reason being the giant timesink that is Little Big Planet 2. Because as if making your own levels wasn't time-consuming enough, now you can pretty much make any game you can imagine. Which actually raises the question is LBP 2 even really a game? I mean sure there's a single-player, but I'd suggest it's more of a tool-set (especially based on the rather poor demo that was released) simple enough for anyone to use regardless of their level of programming skill, which with everyone being able to put their vision out for someone to download, could make it the best bang for your buck in all of gaming. I don't know if I'll pick it up right away, I really don't have the free time to play around with the tool set, and it'll be a little while before people really get a hang of using it and start churning out some amazing stuff, so I'll probably give it a look if there's a good sale or when the inevitable Game of the year edition hits.

Also hitting shelves this week for the PS3 is the best game of last year, Mass Effect 2. It is awesome that PS3 owners get to experience this awesome franchise, but I'm really surprised that Bioware isn't also releasing the original. Sure there's a comic book so people can catch up, but honestly one of the coolest things about 2 is seeing stuff that you did in the original make differences in the sequel, even if it didn't affect the overall game all that much, little touches here and there help seal the deal, and PS3 owners miss out on that. Also, it's like starting a series in the middle. Yes, you don't absolutely have to play the original to enjoy the sequel, but like any good trilogy there's a whole important layer missing.

After the excellence that was Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, one could only hope  Sega would release more awesomeness from years past. Well, they are releasing something from years past at any rate with the Dreamcast Collection. Now the sadly doomed Dreamcast had many great titles, none of which are on this collection. Sonic Adventure was terrible when it was released and hasn't aged well, Crazy Taxi is fun for about 10 minutes, and do I really even have to explain why Bass Fishing is a poor choice? That pretty much just leaves Space Channel 5: Part 2, which I'd rank a solid but not really a classic. Hope if there's a volume 2, it's got a much meatier offering (hint, Jet Grind Radio, Skies of Arcadia & Grandia II would make any collection a must-buy).

ok that's really it for today but I should be back with another post in the next couple of days, in the meantime here is your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Moby Dick: The Videogame

The most important game EVER.

I've mentioned this before, but it's sort of mind-boggling that this is the first real mmorpg taking a serious shot at the console audience. I mean yeah, there's FFXI, but that was pretty much a half-assed attempt at best. This is the first one really designed to fit a console, with a serious license and budget behind it, and it may set the trend for the future of online console gaming as we know it. Console gamers are sort of lost on the idea of paying for anything beyond the initial purchase, as you can tell if you read virtually any PS3 thread on any forum about the game, they think paying a monthly fee is stupid. But this isn't Call of Duty or MAG or Borderlands or whatever. It's a persistent changing universe with constant updates, and clearly none of these people have played a game like it or they would know that. And frankly that does not bode entirely well for the game.

Now granted, this may just be the usual vocal minority, as we've seen the vast majority don't even bother doing things like going on forums and bitching about stuff like this. We won't really know until sales figures come in. But the reason this game obviously has a huge responsibility on its shoulders is pretty obvious-if it does well, we may see a long overdue flood of other MMOs. If it fails, well odds are it won't completely kill off other attempts, but it may remain the mostly barren wasteland we've been used to all these years. I'm really hoping for the former, although admittedly with nearly every MMO going free-to-play these except WOW(and most of them actually making a lot more money that way), a monthly subscription may not be the best overall idea to welcome console gamers into the MMO waters. I guess we'll see how everything plays out over the next few months.

That's really all I got for today, but there should be another post sometime this weekend (most likely Friday). Until then,here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:  Battle LA

WHY SQUARE? WHY DO YOU TORTURE US?

Seriously, Kingdom Hearts II came out ALMOST 5 YEARS AGO. But yet a myriad of mostly underwhelming re-mixes & spin-offs have not stopped coming out the gate rather than a proper sequel. Where we re-visit worlds yet again with characters we don't really care about. And they are digging into this shallow well once again with the DS port of a damn cell phone game in Kingdom Hearts: Coded. Where you play a digital version of Sora and re-visit the worlds that we've visited many, many times before. Yes, it can be fun to go back to familiar places, but it would be to see how they have changed since the previous adventures not to see them as they were all over again.

Now granted, Disney has used a large majority of their biggest classic tales already, but that still leaves a wealth of good properties to mine (as many including myself have mentioned) as well as Square and now even Marvel properties to use. What we really need from the powers that be is a full-fledged sequel. I don't even care what console it's on, pretty much anything from the PS3 to the DS have all proven capable of handling such an epic. Just put it out with some new worlds and maybe a couple old ones for nostalgia's sake. I wouldn't really say I was disappointed by Birth By Sleep, but it wasn't Kingdom Hearts 3, it was a prequel. I and pretty much all KH fans want a proper sequel and we wanted it no later than 2 or 3 years ago. Now Square has said to expect a Kingdom Hearts title at least once a year, but frankly unless that title has a "3" attached to it, I'm not going to be horribly interested in what they are churning out.



Ok, that's really all I have for today, but I will probably be back Monday with something else (probably on DC Universe). In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Bat Country

Time to get excited about Xbox Live arcade again. For at least a month anyways...

Being a xbox arcade fan is mostly a series of short highs and extremely long lows. You usually get periods for about a month (or if you are really lucky 2) where there is a ton of quality content eager to fill up your hard drive and empty your wallet. But for months at a time it is a virtual wasteland of overpriced garbage or disappointing rehashes of classics that were better left in yesteryear. But hey, Microsoft has decided that for at least several weeks starting in February, we should actually get real excited with it's Xbox Live Arcade House Party.

Admittedly a Bejeweled game and another card title hold absolutely no interest to me but everybody should be extremely excited about Beyond Good & Evil HD & Torchlight. BG&E was one of the best titles of the last generation no one played and word is this is sort of a litmus test to see if Ubisoft should make a proper sequel. If you haven't played BG&E before now (and odds are you haven't) it's arguably the best Zelda-esque title you will ever see on a non-Nintendo console, so do yourself a huge favor and download it so Ubisoft can see that there is in fact a great reason to make a sequel.

Torchlight is kind of a question mark. Yes its a fantastic game, especially if you love Diablo-style dungeon crawls, but it's been on the PC a long time already, often available for a mere $5 (at least through services such as Steam anyways). This sort of brings into question how much is it worth? Granted, if you never have played the game before the expected high price tag might be worth it, but if anyone has an even semi-decent computer available to them, there's little reason to buy it. Though $10 sounds like a sweet spot price point to me, if it comes out at that I might justify having it on my hard drive.

Of course this still doesn't solve the real issue-that ever since it's launch the Xbox Live Arcade service is pretty much the poster boy of inconsistency. We get a few noteworthy titles months apart, and for the most the release list is utter garbage no one in their right minds would pay for. Microsoft really needs to get a handle on this, if they really treated it as a serious channel for delivering content on par with brick & mortar retail (like the pc already has for years with digitial distribution), it could make real quality titles delivered on a consistent basis, and with hard drives getting bigger and bigger, a large project is getting a lot more feasible these days. Unlike previous hardware cycles (especially with Kinect selling so ridiculously well) the 360 still probably has quite a few years left so there's still time to correct before the next generation and have a system in place for when that does happen.

That's really all I got today, but I should be back Saturday with another post. Until then, here is your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Paul

The first good console MMO?

Why MMOs are almost exclusively a PC genre is sort of a mystery these days. Sure, console gamers that are used to paying just for the initial box and maybe some future dlc would balk at paying a monthly subscription fee and keyboards are far more versatile for the genre in general, but the sheer lack of attempts is staggering. I mean there have been a few canceled projects and that's about it. DC Universe Online is hopefully set to change this mindset when it comes out in about a week and a half. I've been able to play a few sessions here and there in the beta, and the game actually works incredibly well with the PS3 controller, giving you a much more action-packed grind than you get out of WOW. Of course, it's easy to forget that this is a new MMO, just about to come out of beta, and there are still plenty of maintenance issues (the reason I'm not playing right now is because the servers are down, which has been an issue the last few days really). But frankly the ability to be a superhero running around with the likes of Supes & Batman and even minor leaguers like Steel while fighting the likes of Grodd and Braniac. I unfortunately think I won't really have the time to devote to make a monthly subscription worth it, but it seems like once the maintenance issues are under control it will hopefully be the first of many quality MMOs for consoles. We'll see when it hits on the 11th.

One other service I've been giving a shot is Hulu Plus, and while it does show a lot of promise, it has a long way to go if it wants to be on the same level as services like Netflix. Sure, Netflix doesn't have current shows most of the time for streaming, but it has an absolutely tremendous back catalog, far less issues streaming and no ads. Aside from being able to play it on my PS3, I'm not compltely sure what benefit I get in paying for this since some content that is on Hulu for free isn't available on the Plus service. Admittedly the sheer fact that I can watch at least some episodesof current TV or catch up on seasons I've been missing out on for a mere $8 a month seems like it might be worthwhile.

That's pretty much it for today, have a happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2011, leaving you with the TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Casino Jack

10 Reasons to still play your Wii in 2011

Yeah, the future isn't looking entirely bright for the little underpowered console at the moment. Nintendo is most likely focused on launching its new baby, the 3DS, which is just a few months from launch, and they pretty much seemed to have blown their load on catalog releases this past year, coming out with an entry for pretty much all their established franchises. And both Sony and Microsoft have gotten into the motion gaming arena, offering similar options in high def. Might as well dump the Wii now while it's still worth something right? Not so fast. Like every year, there are actually a fairly decent amount of reasons to not only keep your Wii, but possibly play it just as much if not more so than the "hardcore" consoles, and here's 10 to look forward to right now :

10. Retro City Rampage

Unfortunately no longer a Fall 2010 release or aWiiware exclusive, because otherwise it'd probably be higher on the list. But that doesn't changed the fact that this is a real GTA "de-make" that promises to brilliantly spoof both classic 80s games and the sandbox crime saga genre that GTA itself defined is one of the most anticipated downloadable titles in ages.

9. de Blob 2

The original de Blob is one of many excellent third-party Wii efforts that sadly went mostly unnoticed by the Wii audience,so it's no surprise that much like RCR above, it's expanding to all 3 consoles for the sequel. But the original was a great example of awesome gaming using the waggle, so the sequel should be no different in quality, and hey if you already have a Wii, why pay extra to get something that will pretty much be the same on any other console?

8. Mario Sports Mix

Hey not every game is going to be for us hardcore people, and putting three sports into one box Nintendo would usually sell as 3 separate titles is an unusually good value assuming they play well. Mario sports titles have a pretty good record overall, and this is the kind of game you could enjoy with more casual gamers in your family/circle of friends without being ashamed to even own it unlike say Carnival Games. The real icing on the cake would be competent online play(it does have online play, but only one-on-one and still needs friend codes, which should be dropped altogether), but since this is Nintendo, that's probably not going to happen.

7. Conduit 2

The Wii is better built for shooters than most would lead you to believe. It's why games like the Metroid Prime Trilogy are considered a must buy and the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 is considered essentially the best version. Because when done right, the shooters stand right up there with the likes of COD and Gears of War. So, aside from lack of a coherent online system, it's sort of puzzling why more high-profile shooters don't end up here. But the Conduit series was intentioned from the get go to be a hardcore FPS that Wii owners could claim as their own. Now while the first didn't completely live up the ridiculously high bar it set for itself, it was still an incredibly solid game, and the sequel really promises to improve on that experience.

6. Dragonquest X

This would probably be significantly higher if a damn thing was known about this latest entry in the biggest RPG series in the world. But this is actually shaping up to be a rather strong year for Wii rpgs, with several to be known in development, this arguably being the biggest one. All we really know is that this is confirmed for the Wii and it's supposed to be out sometime in 2011. But since it's a DQ title, that may be all fans need to know anyways.

5. Xenoblade

Admittedly all I really know about this title is that it is a critically acclaimed rpg in Japan that seems ripe for a release over here. Though no official announcement has been made, both fanboys and websites  alike have been been drooling over it, so it would make a 2011 release at least seem a likely possibility. It looks gorgeous and seriously long, so any rpg fan should snap it up right away if it does come out here.

4. Lost in Shadow

Just a few days away from release, Lost in Shadow is already one of the more intriguing titles this year. It's a 2d side-scrolling platformer, which is becoming increasingly rare and it uses a really unique hook being that you literally are a shadow and have to pretty much use the background as your guide. Hopefully it lives up to its lofty promise as reviews have been a tad mixed, but those who love it truly think its brilliant.

3. Last Story

It's another rpg (I told you it looks like a good year for Wii rpgs), but this one is from famed Final Fantasy director, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Offering what seems to be a solid single and online component along with an epic quest. Last Story has been looking more awesome with each preview, so this should be an rpg hopefully on par with any other epic out there this year.

2. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It's ZELDA. Do I really need to explain much more than that? The showing at E3 was awesome, Zelda is always incredible. This will probably be the premier 2011 title for Wii, and that's not because of a lack of other stellar titles. Zelda games stand out pretty much any year, and this one should be no exception.

1. Games You Missed

See that game right there? It's a highly praised Wii title that no one bought. And it's one of many. Other excellent action games like No More Heroes 2 & Sin & Punishment also pretty much died at retail while crap like Just Dance 2 sold like hotcakes. Wii owners who enjoy real games cry time and time again about the lack of non-shovelware but when someone tries to come out with something for that crowd, they hardly show up. If your Wii isn't getting much playtime, odds are there is more than a few noteworthy games released not only this past year, but in the last several that you can pick up on the cheap now and discover. Titles like the original Conduit, the first de Blob, Zak & Wiki, Madworld and many many others. If you seriously wanna bolster your library, the bargain/used section at most stores have plenty of awesome titles for under $20 if you're willing to dig just a little.

So yeah, hardly time to turn in that little underpowered waggle-machine just yet. And 2011 hasn't even started, so I'm sure Nintendo has a few surprises up its sleeve like it usually does. That's pretty much all for today, but I should be back with another post tomorrow. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Line Runner 2

The obligatory Christmas post

Sorry about only one post this week, but my schedule has been kind of screwy lately, so until I get that sorted out, this'll be m last post (but shouldn't be more than a week or two). So in the meantime, here's some Christmas cheer for you all:


The Tron Holiday Xmas Special

The 1982 Tron Holiday Special from Rip Taylor

The Robot Chicken Christmas Special

10 Must-see Xmas Horror Movies

The 12 most Unintentionally Disturbing Xmas ads

4 Bad Lessons from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

And your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: MOUNTAIN MANIAC XMAS

Lonestar vs. Captain Jack?

Yup, former space hero and alien ass-kicking president Bill Pullman is all set to join the upcoming season of Torchwood, along with Mekhi Phifer (who had a pretty good run on Lie to Me). It does seem like they are cast under a mandate of having somewhat familiar American actors in the show because as awesome as Torchwood is, much like Doctor Who it's following in America is small at best; however these seem like 2 very awesome additions to the cast (though to be fair Freema Agyeman and Noel Clarke would've made a lot more sense to long-time fans). I can't wait for the series to finally start sometime next year.

Maybe I've just been spoiled by the pure awesomeness that is Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (even if it is missing a couple obvious classics like Toejam & Earl and General Chaos), but it's far and away the best compilation out there and should be an example to others for sheer content alone. Now, most aren't going to be that massive, and I accept that, but the Super Mario All-Stars compilation seems like such a major jip. 4 Games? All of which you can simply get on the Wii Virtual Console for a cheaper price. The graphics are only moderately updated (to 16-bit). This just seems like a really pathetic cash grab to me. If they had made them all multi-player like the New Super Mario Bros game or included a few more classics such as Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island, it might be worth it, but it really seems like this was a big throwaway idea. Let's hope the newly confirmed Dreamcast collection isn't also a let down (and as long as they include Skies of Arcadia, it probably won't be).

Another "classic" out this week on both PSN & XBLA is the old X-Men arcade game. It's arguably a re-skinned Ninja Turtles game with very similar mechanics, so whether it's worth picking up or not may be dependent on your love of simplistic old-school brawlers. I considered it worth the $10, though value beyond that is arguable.


Ok that's pretty much it for today so until next time, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Take me Home Tonight

Well looks like my 2011 calendar is pretty much taken up...

At least as long as there are no massive delays. The completely pointless Spike Videogame Awards aired last night, but they did show off a ton of awesome games for 2011, including Arkham City, Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3 and the OH MY GOD IT ACTUALLY EXISTS Elder Scrolls V. As pumped as I am for new chapters in the Mass Effect & Uncharted series as well as the sequel to the best superhero game ever, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ate up my game time like few other games have, easily spending a couple hundred hours on it and never even finishing the main quest. Seriously, I hope Nintendo has nothing awesome planned for next year (besides the 3DS, which likely won't have much worthwhile software he first year anyways, like virtually all consoles), because I don't know if I'll have time. Well, maybe for Skyward Sword, but that's probably pushing it.

I haven't been paying much (really any attention) to the Doritos-sponsored xbox live development series that resulted in what should be 2 horribly cheap games. I haven't actually tried Harm's Way, just doesn't seem like my cup of tea, but I might try it at some point. Crash Course, on the other hand, is unexpectedly awesome. It's basically Ninja Warrior with avatars, pulled off incredibly well. Pretty much the only thing missing is a level editor so you can make your own stages, it would nearly infinite replay value.

That's really all I've got for today, so I'll just leave you with your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: THOR

Shaking things up...

Expansions rarely change the core of the game. They are by definition, pretty much an extension of what you already have, sometimes only a little, sometimes a vast amount, but the core game itself remains virtually unchanged. This week's biggest release, the latest expansion to the hugely popular World of Warcraft game, Catyclysm, actually drastically alters the Azeroth landscape and some of the biggest changes in game history, even bringing major changes to familiar classes.

Now anyone who has actually followed this blog since the start knows that I had somewhat brief (at least in MMO terms) addiction to it back in its infancy before any expansions were released, then pretty much quit cold turkey near the endgame and really hadn't looked back. My wife however, discovered it a few months ago and is completely  hooked, and has even gotten me back into just a little, so of course we picked it up. I haven't really tested out the new races myself, but many of the changes already have taken place with the last major patch and it's pretty awesome not to mention refreshing to see them make really big changes like this rather than the mostly minor tweaking they've been doing even with the previous expansions. If you have been lax in your WoW lately or have been away awhile, this probably provides the best reason to come back in a long time.

XBLA & PSN are prime opportunities to re-live arcade classics, and someone has finally gotten around to releasing a long overdue one as X-Men arcade hits XBLA next week (PS3 owners unfortunately have to wait til February). Now if someone can get their heads out of their asses and release the far superior Simpsons arcade game we'd pretty much be set.

And out this week is this almost obligatory tie-in the the latest nerd-gasm worthy-looking movie, Tron: Evolution. I really have very little interest and the game though, and I'm sort of wondering why Tron is even popular in this day and age. Ok, it has a cult following, lots of crappy movies do. It was a giant flop when it was released, and if you watch it today, it doesn't really hold up in any shape or form. Fantastic idea? Absolutely, but the execution was pretty ho-hum. Whether or not the sequel actually delivers on the promising idea of the original is yet to be seen. I do plan on seeing it if not next week in the near future so I'll be sure to post my thoughts when I do.

Ok thats really all I have for today, but I should be back later in the week with something. Til then here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Endeavor

Epic Fail?

There's a lot of positive things to say about what Warren Spector has done here with Epic Mickey. The art style is fantastic, making it one of the best-looking games on the Wii and proving once again that processing power isn't everything. The fan-service is immense with nods not just to Mickey himself but to a vast majority of Disney's contribution to animation in general. But while the overall style and fanservice is top notch, the game fails in a couple of key areas that seem like really obvious issues. Firstly, the voicework, or overall lack thereof. With the excpetion of the Narrator, no one really has a voice in Epic Mickey. Now, that is pretty standard for most Wii titles, but given the famous voices that should be involved here, it's pretty inexcusable that they don't talk.

Secondly, many times you are given at best a vague idea of where you are supposed to go or what you are supposed to do, and the system to help you out (little lights called guardians that can point to your next objective) works poorly at best.

But really the biggest issue is the camera. Now a bad camera is almost expected as even with all the advances in technology getting a really solid consistent camera in a 3D game is a near impossibility even in the best of the genre. But this has to be one of the worst cameras I have ever had to deal with, making many battles a guessing game and platforming sections a huge leap of faith for the most part. A camera this bad is pretty inexcusable on what is supposed to be a AAA title right up there with Nintendo's finest efforts.

So is it a bad game not worth your time? It depends. If you are a huge Mickey/Disney fan, it's probably worth it for the presentation and fanservice alone. It presents a ton of value through multiple playthroughs, and there are certainly enough times where everything clicks to show the game's full potential. However, I don't think there is enough here to make it worthwhile for people who are not Disney fans or animation buffs.

Moving on, if anything seemed like a giant cash grab at this point, it would be a Back to the Future title. There hasn't been a new movie in a long time and no attempt to re-make it yet (thank god), but the guys at Telltale games are not ones for quick cash grabs, making the highly amusing Sam & Max titles as well as the latest entries in the Monkey Island series and the Wallace & Gromit games. So when they are the ones making a Back to the Future title, you should know its worth checking out, which they have definitely confirmed with this awesome trailer for the game, due out in the next several weeks:



Supposedly they are also working on a Jurassic Park title, but I don't see nearly as much potential there.

That's pretty much it for today, but I should be back Tuesday with thoughts on Catyclysm, Inception and probably a few other things. In the meantime, here is your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Your Highness

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