Not since Killer7 have I had the pleasure of playing a unique experience such as Catherine. This game is a true gem. Its greatest strength is that it takes your expectations of what a game should be and makes you realize what a game could be. Like Demon’s Souls, Persona 4, and Odin Sphere that came before it, Catherine falls in the tradition of Atlus Games’ tendency towards the peculiar and the macabre. Continue reading »
After franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band began to lose their luster towards the end of the decade, developers waited with baited breath for the next big trend in gaming. Now dance games are nothing new. The first Dance Dance Revolution arcades were released in North America back in 1999 (I remember fondly playing my first round of DDR at Sega City’s Playdium in downtown Toronto) as well as subsequent iterations of the game later released on the PS2 (and having to grudgingly drag the dance mat out of the closet every time I wanted to play).
I often wonder what the Kinect’s future would’ve been had it not been for Dance Central. I imagine it’d act as a little more than a paperweight with the ability to access the Xbox360?s dashboard without having to reach for a controller. There’s no denying that this franchise helped push Microsoft’s new technology off the shelves, but beyond the hardware itself Dance Central showcases the true potential of a game that doesn’t require a tangible controller. Oh sure there are imitators, and franchises like Just Dance and Everybody Dance shows no signs of slowing down. But Dance Central delivered something gamers had been waiting for for years, the chance to experience a full-motion dance game without the necessity of a mat or controller.
In the game, players learn choreographed dance moves via one of eight in-game avatars. If the player steps out of sync with the music; doesn’t execute a dance move properly; or misses a dance move completely, that body part will highlight red on their avatar. Now the game isn’t perfect. There’s no online multiplayer in the first game or the ability for two players to dance at the same time (most of these shortcomings are remedied in its sequel), however with over 650 individual dance moves, 90 dance routines, and 32 songs on each game’s disc (with 32 DLC songs available for Dance Central and 44 new songs available in Dance Central 2), there’s no shortage of fun to be had with either title.
What people tend to forget is that Dance Central isn’t solely a dance game but a synergy of both music games and exercise games, capitalizing on widely successful karaoke titles like SingStar and the health-conscious sensibilities of games like Wii fit. I’m probably reading too much into this franchise at this point. These games are simply an all-around fun experience to enjoy by yourself or with friends. The soundtrack isn’t pigeonholed to the most popular hits of today but it diverse and eclectic, spanning as far back as the disco era to modern artists like Pitbull, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Usher.
Believe it or not this game does actually make you a better dancer. At first you might feel hesitant but rest assured once you complete your first dance number all of those reservations melt away. Sure you’ll look ridiculous doing it but personally it’s the best kind of ridiculousness.
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It must be Christmas time and no one told me. We’ve gotten you updates MotoGP, Dead Rising 2 and the fun isn’t about to stop now.
Thanks to the fine gentlemen over at Rooster Teeth we now have just little bit more information about Bungie’s Halo: Reach which is to be released on September 14th. The RT guys have made this PSA (Public Service Announcement) on their site: http://www.roosterteeth.com where Red Team gets the order to go “home”. Needless to say hilarity ensues and while you’re wiping the tears from your eyes go ahead and check out some of the new toys and gadgets Bungie let them play with. Oh we’re sure that the map will get your BLOOD pumping if you know what we mean *wink*.
With the FPS (First Person Shooter) world being overwhelmed with war games based in the past, modern, future, space, sci-fi, etcetera it’s no wonder it’s hard for games to break out from the crowd and seem genuinely original with not only it’s gameplay but with its story as well. Luckily for us a certain game developer decided toshatter the mold and create what some say was a damn near perfect game. That game is…
Bioshock
2K Games released this prized jewel in late 2007 and it quickly became a fan and critic favourite. Getting high ratings from gamespot(9.0/10), X-play (5/5), Metascore(96/100) and many other high recognitions. Why was this game such a success? Might have something to do with the following.
The story of this game really makes you want to sit down and play throughout the entire thing in one sitting. Set in 1960, you play as Jack, a survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the ocean. He finds a mysterious lighthouse and a bathysphere that takes him into the underwater rundown city of Rapture. Upon arriving you’re greeted with psyched out civilians of this once great city. You soon find out that these splicers (people who use a strange drug and have gone mad) are using a genetic enhancing drug called plasmids and that they’re attack was not random. They were sent by the former ruler of Rapture a mad man named Andrew Ryan.
Not to spoil anything in the game but to be able to obtain your own plasmids you need to start collecting ADAM. Think of ADAM as the currency needed to obtain more special abilities. The only way to get this bloody “cash” is to get it from a harmless little girl. Not bad right? Oh and this guy is protecting her. –>
I think you're going to need a bigger gun.
The gameplay is simply awesome. The crazed out Splicers know when to take cover when beingattacked and will even search for health if they are near death. The immensely fun mini boss battles you have with the Big Daddies adds a whole new level of conservation when it comes to health packs. Add the almost endless ways you can use your plasmid which range from your standard lightning attack to hypnotizing a Big Daddy to some your dirty work. 2K also through a moral system in there to mess with your fun. You can either kill the little sister to obtain an abundant amount of ADAM or cure the young lass and go the route of the good guy. Both have different endings. Oh did I mention you can hack security systems? Yeah that’s right. Use the environment as your weapon.
I could go on forever about how excellent this game is…Or tell you to go find it and buy it. The game has been out for three years now, so you can easily get it for 20-30$ new or cheaper if used. Whichever way you get it is fine with me. As long as you get it.
Ubisoft released a new trailer just in time for E3. This newest trailer gives us more of an insight as to the plot and a few of the antagonists in the game. Also, it gives a little bit more knowhow of Ezio’s new assassin buddies. Now, if only a multiplayer trailer could find it’s way to the public, then I’d be set. So, here it is, the story trailer for Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.
A new trailer was released at E3 earlier today for Halo Reach. The trailer shows a bit more of the campaign and a lot more of the hand to hand finishers. Seeing this game won me over with it’s multiplayer beta, this is just extra for me. Be sure to check out Bungie’s newest trailer here.
Earlier today, some one made the mistake of posting of Metal Gear Solid: Rising up on the Xbox Marketplace. While this posting was short lived, it gave us a sneak peek at the box art of the game.
I’m not entirely too sure what the game is going to entail, but he has a railgun. A railgun folks, and if it’s anything even remotely close to Fortune’s from Metal Gear Solid 2, it will be some kind of awesome. We can only hope that we get some gameplay footage and some more details at the upcoming E3.
When I was younger, I was terrified the first time I saw the black and white version of Psycho. Everything in the genre spooked me. Even things that didn’t remotely related… like the X-Files theme song. I’m not proud to admit it, but I used to be the type of person that jumped at everything and anything, and I’d probably have a nightmare about it later.
However, things change. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but I do remember reading through Stephen King’s Pet Cemetery and thinking: “Wow, that was creepy. I like it.” Suddenly I wasn’t afraid of the genre, and in a random twist of irony, it turned out I liked it. Nowadays, I find myself looking through games, movies and books that are scary. For the most part, things have come up short or have just dissolved down to shock factor, excessive gore, and/or zombies. So, when I find something, like a game (Yes, I’m getting there), that actually is scary, I’m impressed. So, without further delays…
This week’s game…
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Here’s a brief synopsis. You play as FBI agent Ethan Thomas who is now investigating a series of grisly murders by the serial killer The Match Maker. During this investigation Ethan finds out that the killer may still be at the scene with him, and with the help of a few cops in the area, attempt to hunt the killer down. But things don’t go as planned and Ethan soon finds the situation out of control as the killer steals his gun. After being knocked out, Ethan wakes up in his apartment to find out that two police officers were shot using his gun. Now he finds himself on the run from the police while trying to prove his innocence.
In horror/suspense/thriller survival games, one thing that I’ve found maintains the balance of the 1 vs. 100 feeling is weaponry. If your opponents have no weapons, you have a melee weapon. If they have melee weapons, you have firearms. The protagonist always needs to have that little edge against his foes. The folks at Sega decided to say “The hell with that.”
That’s one of the things I like about this game. You find yourself on par with the enemies you’re fighting. Both you and your enemies will either fight hand to hand or with improvised weapons like pipes and axes. There are a few points where you get access to a firearm or two, but ammunition is scarce. However, the better part of your enemies are meth-out psychotic criminal ninjas who don’t feel pain and have a natural immunity to bullets (In truth, this is a minor exaggeration). It really raises the tension in-game.
The game keeps you on your toes from start to finish with a creepy atmosphere that doesn’t give up. No, not even for a second. I found it hard pressed to find any spot in the game where I felt safe for longer than a moment or two before I heard some crazed criminal rustling around in the shadows.
Check out Condemned: Criminal Origins for Xbox 360 and Windows.
