Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ghostbusters: The Video Game | Review



Synopsis: As part of the 25th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film, gaming fans of the franchise will now have the opportunity to play as part of the team on the console of their choice. The game is written by the writer/actors that were a part of the original blockbuster hit and also sees support from the original cast members to help make this new pop culture sensation. The basis of the story is set two years after Ghostbusters 2, with Manhattan once again being consumed by the supernatural. You play as a new recruit working alongside the original team, with a variety of equipment and gadgets at your disposal to wrangle and trap phantasms gone awry.



Praise: This game is something adults and children alike can come to enjoy and even play together as long as you have two remotes and nunchuks. Even though the graphics strongly resemble a familiar Pixar movie about superheroes, the Ghostbusters feeling is there and just as enjoyable. The soundtrack and the voice acting are fitting to the flow of the game and is the same music found in the first and second Ghostbuster films. If you are unfamiliar with the movies, you can still enjoy the game while not be completely lost. The coop feature of the game does make playing the game more enjoyable when there are other people around.



Gripes: As the game starts, a tutorial walks you through the controls and objectives needed to complete the game. You look around with the remote and move with the nunchuk, however, the sensitivity of looking around is a little too much. It is too easy to spin too far, and then over correct yourself while trying to find objects and ghosts to scan. Luckily, you can use the “Z” button to lock on to ghosts, easing the issue of motion sickness while looking around. Lastly, the levels can be rather short, before having to watch long cut scenes leading into the next level.



Overall, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a fun, entertaining, and interactive addition to the Wii’s growing library. It is always fulfilling to throw a ghost against the wall, ceiling, and floor, before capturing it. Though the game has some minor quirks that can be frustrating at times, the voice acting and soundtrack teamed with the storyline are strong elements that help make this a solid and enjoyable game. Playing the game from start to finish only takes about five hours, but it is easy and still fun to go back to the game with a friend and play some levels on coop mode.

Mashbuttons.com gives Ghostbusters: The Video Game 7 out of 10

Ghostbuster: The Video Game for the Wii, hit store shelves on June 16th.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

My vote goes to Scratch DJ

With all the new music games out and being expanded on, DJ's want their piece of the pie. Like the bitter feud between Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there is a new epic battle to come.

In the blue corner we have DJ Hero, with numerous Guitar Hero Titles under it's belt. DJ Hero, weighing in at $119.99 is played with a turntable peripheral and can be played multiplayer with the Guitar Hero Control



In the red corner is Scratch The Ultimate DJ, costing $99.95, and is the new comer to the music game genre and the underdog in the DJ feud. The peripheral for Scratch is a turntable created by Numark.



So which will take the win, or have DJ games missed the bus?

Too soon to leave L4D,for dead?



To boycott or not boycott, what will it be? With Valve's announcement to the sequel of the original, Left 4 Dead, that had just been released short of a year ago, Valve fanboys across the web are letting it be known that they can complain as much as Capcom fans.

It is still too early to tell if the franchise warrants a sequel so soon but I am sure it will be known shortly whether gamers are ready for this multiplayer survival horror or if the outcome will be Bionic Commando-esque sales numbers.

I know that I for one will be buying the sequel on day one, buy my largest fear in itself would be that the number of people to play with will be cut in halves, one being elitists, the others being noobs and fans in hopes that it will surpass the original.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Battlestations DLC available today

The Volcano map pack was just released for the Battlestations: Pacific in the XBox Live marketplace. For those of you who haven't read my review, Battlestations: Pacific is a pretty decent strategy game that was very recently released on the XBox 360 and PC.



The DLC map pack includes 2 new multiplayer maps, Volcano and Choke Point, at the strange price of 560 MS points. Being that the game had so recently come out, DLC so soon does not sound to appealing, especially when the multiplayer was so mediocre. However, the die hard Battlestations fans should find this pack attractive and is available to que up and download, MS points permitting, from the below link.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802534307e9/

Guerrilla marketing at its finest



What do you do when you are walking down the street and come across a car
parked on the side of the road that just so happens to have 100 copies of
Red Faction: Guerrilla inside with a sledge hammer chained next to it?
Smash the hell out of it, that's what!

This is exactly what the London public came across in the middle of their
very busy day. A PR stunt by THQ for their recent release, Red Faction:
Guerrilla, which was released on June 5th, encouraged anyone looking to take
out some pent up rage on this poor unsuspecting vehicle to get a copy of
the game on their choice of XBox 360 or Playstation 3 platforms.

Come on THQ, why couldn't we have gotten this opportunity in Arizona, Tempe to be specific? My guess is because it would be harder to get a stunt like
this approved, especially being that it would be "video game induced
violence". We never get to have any fun.

Free Saints row DLC



Who likes free content? Well if you have Saint's Row 2 and a XBox Live Gold
membership, you are in luck. The third DLC pack in the last couple months
for the title is available now for the generous price of 0 MS points.

The Unkut Pack, allows you to better personalize your "saint" with sixty
new constomization items such as watches, shirts, pants, bling, whatever
your heart desires. Sixteen new tattoos are an additional option as well if
you have a problem with the skin your in. We have included the link to XBox
marketplace to que up and pimp yourself out below.

Corporate Warfare and Ultor Exposed are also available now for additional
missions, vehicles, weapons,and no other than everyone's favorite
"entertainer" herself, Tera Patrick as a gangsta!

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-
d802545107fc/

Sam & Max Save the World on June 17th | XBLA

In a continuing effort of bringing successful episodic gaming content from the PC side, TellTale Games is bringing us yet another beloved series to the Xbox Live Arcade starting June 17th.

Sam & Max will make their Xbox LIVE Arcade debut with Sam & Max Save the World, their award-winning first season of adventures.

On Xbox, this six-episode collection has HD graphic support, achievements, and foreign-language subtitles—plus, of course, the acclaimed gameplay and hilarious writing the Sam & Max games are famous for!

So, stop by next week, we hope to have a review for you, as well as you can check out the newest from TellTale.

Peggle for iPhone only $1 | Deal of the (next few) days

So we don't cover a lot of iPhone releases yet, but lord knows we want to bring you all the gaming news, and even more so when a deal comes along that's just too good to pass up!

Until June 14th, you can Catch the Peggle Fever, and only for $.99! That's a savings of $4.00 - if you do the math on that, you just can't fail!

Be a Peggle Master with these awesome game features:

•Master 55 levels and 40 Grand Master challenges
•Pick your level in Quick Play or Challenge mode with a flick of your finger
•All new Extreme Precision wheel — fine-tune your aiming for masterful shots
•Cool new style shots (like Off the Wall, Double Long Shot, and Eye of the Pyramid) for racking up more bonus points
•New Trophy Room — revel in your growing collection of trophies
•Save and replay your hottest shots
•Play friends and family in Duel Mode
•Fully optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch
•Listen to your own music while you play!

Lets not mince any further words about it - download this game, tell all your friends before June 14th, and catch the fever! If you're not certain, you can check out some further coverage of the Xbox 360 version here.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Overlord II,brought to you by the Minionsty of Information

The Minionstry of Information has sent me an e-mail regarding Overlord II with a video that is a little guide to get to know your minions before you get to control the evil little bastards. Red, brown, blue, and green minions each have their own special skill to achieve a common goal, being evil.



For those who have not checked out the first Overlord title, the main character is an Overlord that controls hordes of minions, that strangely resembles gremlins. You controls these minions to take over empires and lord over it's citizens. Sounds serious but the minions actually lighten the mood with their banter. See for yourself in these videos.



The demo is out now on the XBox 360, and remember, if you preorder at GameStop, you get a minion Figurine.

DirT2 teasing, leaving us feeling...DirTy



Codemasters is promoting DirT2 in full force at E3, with having a porn star as a booth babe and all. But along with that is the E3 teaser and gameplay trailer. There is much excitement behind this game for a number of reason. The graphics are stunning, large soundtrack which includes 40 popular bands, and lastly, no shortage of events to play.



With the number of largely anticipated racing games announced at E3 and the others that are expected to come out this year, DirtT2 still stands out with the heavy hitters as a title to check out. With DirT2 releasing on almost all platforms, everyone can get DirTy.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Battlestations: Pacific | Mashbutton Review



Synopsis: Battlestations: Pacific is a new World War II strategy game from Eidos Interactive and is the sequel to Battlestations: Midway. The new game is based on the Pacific War, with two separate single player campaigns, where you get to choose whether you want to fight for the US or Japan. Along with being a real time strategy game, flight and naval warfare are thrown into the mix. Adding to the original Battlestations release, Pacific provides 28 missions, 100 units with 21 of them being new entries, 5 multiplayer modes, and a skirmish mode.



Praise: With all of the World War II first person shooters and action games, Battlestations: Pacific is a very welcome entry. The graphics, and fast paced dog fights alone have you clenching the remote trying not to crash or get shot out of the sky. Not only do you take to the skies, but you man and command the seas by ship and submarine, while also using strategy to command your fleet to victory. Once the battle commences there is white knuckle action, while still having the player focus on their next move. As stated before, the graphics are good, and load times aren’t too long compared to other games out. A new feature to the World War II games is that while playing on the Japan campaign, you are able to see a different outcome to what history has shown us.



Gripes: The voice acting is the first thing that stood out to me while playing, as going into missions you are briefed by either American or Japanese commanding officer, depending on the side you choose, whose voice is so dull you quickly forget what you are being briefed on. The multiplayer is also subpar to the single player missions in the game, being that the multiplayer lacks options when setting up a match that are normally found in the more solid multiplayer matches. There is a longer learning curve to getting familiar with ship and submarine controls than found in other action and simulation titles.



Overall: Battlestations: Pacific also provides many hours of gameplay leaving no buyer’s remorse for simulator or strategy fans alike. It is as much a simulator as it is a strategy game, so it does take patience, but if you are patient with learning what it has to offer, there will be a lot of payoff. Completing secondary and hidden side missions along with receiving medals result in unlockable vehicles to use used throughout the game as well.

Mashbuttons.com gives Battlestations: Pacific 8 out of 10

Battlestations: Pacific is available now on the PC and Xbox 360.

The Beatles: Rock Band | Screens

The Fab Four have their own video game, coming 09-09-09 (the 10-year anniversary of the Dreamcast, coincidence?)

The latest "platform" in the Rock Band series of games focuses allows you to experience The Beatles amazing catalog of music, taking players through the legacy and evolution of The Beatles extraordinary career. (overused adjective count: 4)

The bad news is I have a closet full of plastic drums, and at least 3 plastic guitars and I'm sure a microphone or two, so again the bad news is, I don't need anymore. But if I could do it all over again, I'd only get the Beatles Rock Band, with their impressive custom guitars, and drumset.

The good news is that it will be compatible with all Rock Band controllers as well as most Guitar Hero and authorized third-party instrument controllers and microphones. So getting just the game will be a no-brainer. I mean, really - why would you pass up the ability to play the insanely popular, and brilliant tunes from from such a prolific act that even decades later still serves as a driving force and inspiration to anyone involved in music? You can't, you just can't. Enjoy the screenshots, and video below.

Screenshots


Trailer

Alan Wake Trailer and screens

Finally, we've gotten some more concrete information about Alan Wake, the psychological action thriller from Remedy, the developers of the acclaimed "Max Payne" series. Set in the small town of Bright Falls, Washington, players assume the role of Alan Wake, a best-selling suspense author suffering from a bade case of writer's block. After escaping to the small town, he's quickly caught up in the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee.



We've posted the video below for you to check out, so check it out. There's plenty more game announcements coming, so we'll keep rolling.

Microsoft doesn't want you to use any controllers | Project Natal


In a ground-breaking, yet not entirely surprising turn of events this week, Microsoft announced a new Motion Sensitive controller, ahem, I mean, they announced a new interface that will allow you to play your Xbox 360 sans controller.

Project Natal (pronounced "nuh-tall") is compatible with any Xbox 360 system, and is the first sensor in the world to "combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device." Project Natal tracks your full body movement in 3-D, and will respond to commands, gestures, directions and even a tone shift in your voice.

Even legendary film director Steven Spielberg was on stage to help with the unveiling, saying "The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear, with 'Project Natal', we'll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us."



So what do you think? Do you think this is just Microsoft's gimmicky answer to the corner of the market the Wii owns? Or do you believe that they can truly revolutionize the way we interact with our gaming systems? I'm willing to give it a shot, they need to sell me on it's ability and how accurate it is, but otherwise, to me at least, the jury is still out.

Thanks to Joystiq for the video

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum gets an August release date | Finally

Hot on the heels of e3, Warner Brothers Interactive and Eidos pinned down an August 25th release (August 28th if you're across the pond) of the new, exciting title in the Batman series. About a month ago, there was a "end of summer" delay, adding a few more months for some spit and polish, which will be certainly evident in the final product.

Below is the latest trailer showing some "free-flow" combat you'll get to experience in the final version. Oh, and don't forget, if you happen to have one of those fancy PS3's, it may sway your purchase due to an exclusive (and free) downloadable Joker character to play in the challenge maps. It's a cool addition to be sure, but not one enough to pull me from the xbox 360 version.

Enjoy the video


Just the facts jack | E3 2009


E3 is fully amongst us, and we've decided to first and foremost, bring you the news as quickly as we can, and forgo any pleasantries, and dispense with any small talk. "Just the facts, jack" is what we're calling this section, and all E3 news posts will be tagged as "e3 2009" and "just the facts jack" cause we just want to ensure timely delivery of the latest news.

All those other outlets have a much larger staff, but we want to bring you all the news as well.

1 vs 100 US Beta | Impressions

Day 1 of e3 2008 has come and gone, and after all the hoopla of Microsoft's and EA's Press Confrences and other various news for the day, Microsoft finally brought the beta of it's Primetime offering of 1 vs 100 to the US. Already playing out in Canada, aligning the addition of US during the industry's largest event was brilliant. Chris Cashman, the host during last night's sessions, said there were over 50,000 logged in playing...impressive numbers, but even more so that his counter stopped at 50K.

You've no doubt seen the popular dramatic gameshow on television, hosted by Bob Saget, it's in the same vein as "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", the show pits 1 lucky individual against a mob of 100. As the all answer trivia questions, increasing in difficulty, over time, the mob dwindles, and the pot increases for the one, with key moments giving the one the ability to take the money (Microsoft points) and run, or continue on for bigger amounts.

Still in beta, no real microsoft points were handed out last night, but the appeal is addicting. The only problem is with so many logging on, it's like playing the lottery for a chance to play the lottery. It's difficult to be picked as the one, or the mob. I played at least 10 rounds (the length of about 2 hours over the course of the session), and each round I was just in the audience. While you can still participate, you're not really going for the real prizes. I suppose the good news is neither was anyone else. Unfortunately, the game isn't available to play at anytime, you have to be around for the few hours once in a while, and I recommend getting there early.

The Xbox Live Primetime has insurmountable potential, and I for one will be tuning in...


Monday, June 1, 2009

Terminator Salvation | Review



I know most anyone on this site has been a fan of the Terminator at one point or another, whether it was when the Governator, I mean Arnold Schwarzen-whatever, was on a never-ending quest to find and either kill or protect the Connors, or throughout the Sarah Connor Chronicles, with the lead singer of Garbage, Shirley Manson, taking the role of a T-1001. With that rant aside, anyone with internet or TV knows that the fourth Terminator movie, Terminator Salvation has just hit the box office, being followed by the release of the Terminator Salvation video game for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC from the same developer that brought us Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Bionic Commando, Grin.



The Terminator Salvation video game is a third person shooter bringing cinematic combat along with enemies and weaponry found in the previous movies. While this game shares the same title as the most recent Terminator movie to hit theaters, the story takes place two years before the events set to take place in the movie. The title’s focus for gameplay is on the robotic enemy AI and their resilience to kill you until they are destroyed, along with a focus on the destructible cover system which allows the player to use the environment as protection from the onslaught of incoming bullets, and throwing in the occasional vehicles gun fights adds a rail shooter element to some levels.

Praise: Terminator Salvation is full of action and stays true to the enemies and landscapes found in the movies. The background sounds and music add to the blockbuster feel to the game as you are playing through while the cover system keeps gameplay fresh. Playing through on normal difficulty, the game was fairly easy but to the point where I found myself struggling with trying to get out of certain situations and kill everything on the screen to move forward to the next skirmish. The fluidity of the gameplay was fast and smooth, while I was unable to try the coop feature as I noticed I had completed before I got the chance.



Gripes: To start, there is very long load times compared to the amount of gameplay before you are waiting in another loading screen staring at red eyes. The extent of this title last for about 4 hours from start to finish with nine levels to play through and only four types of enemies to take on with just about the same amount of weapons at your disposal. The first 4 levels are decent in length but after that each level lasts about 20 minutes. The graphics are also mediocre, not much different from what is seen in a Playstation 2 or Xbox original game.

Overall: While the game is short, it is not bad by any means. It keeps your attention from start to finish, albeit lasts but only a few hours. This is also a great game for achievements and increasing your gamer score, as playing through completely on normal will provide you with 820 achievement points. Unfortunately, once you play through once there is not much replay value to bring you back to it, unless you have something against robots, then this is the game for you.



Mashbuttons.com gives Terminator Salvation 6 out of 10.

Terminator Salvation is available now on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.

Reminder: Microsoft's E3 Press Conference today | E3


This is a simple reminder for an extravagant event - the opening Press Conference of Microsoft to kick off the week's news and events begins today at 10:25am (PST)

We'll be working...but if you can pull yourself away from your job to follow along any of the numerous live-blogging, it would behoove you to do so.

We can recommend Joystiq's and Kotaku's live blog (will update links when they go live).

In the meantime, set yourself an Outlook reminder to come back here at 10:25 PST today.