Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition finally slated for release May 5th

This first person brawler is soon to be re-released to console gamers XBox Live Arcade next week on Cinco De Mayo. Those unfamiliar with this PC title can expect to find a unique artistic world along with satisfying up close combat, coop online play modes, and improved animations from the original. One of the highlighted gameplay features exclusive to the Ultimate Edition is Awareness System which notifies the you, Ghat, what enemies you will be up against along with their location by on screen indicators.

Wii gets a new fighter with original characters?

That's right, Sega has released the first video in a series showing off their upcoming fighter Tournament of Legends and in this first clip two fighters are revealed, a gladiator and a minotaur. This appears to look like a 3D fighter where you can choose your weapon before battle. I am all for fighting games, but from the video it looks like you have to use the remote and nunchuk, more to come soon.

Super Street Fighter IV | Review

Joystick junkies put away your quarters and break out your fight sticks and fight pads for the recent release of Super Street Fighter IV. Capcom provided us with a review copy of the title, sucking me back into the franchise after already spending eighty plus hours on the original Street Fighter IV title, thanks, and hello broken controllers. The addition of the “Super” prefix to the title is just that, with ten new characters unlocked out of the box, so no more struggling for Akuma and Gouken. Along with the new fighters comes new ultra combos and new online play modes which include up to eight players competing in 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 3, or 4 vs. 4 team elimination battles and an endless battle mode where players fight to keep from being eliminated while the winner competes until they lose, while spectators watch and comment on battle, it’s officially time for me to get a wireless headset. Here comes the new challenger!

It’s the Street Fighter franchise we are talking about, and additional content on top of what’s available from the highest scored Metacritic title of 2009, so yeah, it is kind of a big deal. With the additional of both new and familiar faces, but Juri stands out the most as she is a new character bringing in the newest of fighting styles, Tae Kwon Do, which once familiar with it, is nice as most players online are unfamiliar with her moves. Also, the new online mode of 2 vs 2 up to 4 vs 4 bring a lot more entertainment to the table as you can watch others fight and get your chance work together to dominate other teams. Those that struggled with trying to unlock Akuma and Gouken without success will have all available fighters ready to use out of the box. I gladly welcome one of the two bonus rounds, I don’t know why but have always loved the car stage and glad it’s back.

Since I said I praised the car stage, some may say what about the barrel stage? Well I put that here, but that is my preference since I am not a Ken or Ryu fan, that falls into the gripe section for me. My next issue which I feel is my biggest but only applies to those that had paid full price for Street Fighter IV at launch is that fact that a year ago we purchased the game for full price for essentially the same thing as this but without the additional characters and in order to experience what the “Super” entry has to offer is buying this new entry, luckily it isn’t the normal new release price of sixty dollars. The online gameplay also has a bad side in which you will come across the spammer that either sits in the corner repeating the same move without using any of the moves or tactics that make this game or online play enjoyable, sure you can choose to block this player so you aren’t matched up with them again but it seems this title has a lot of them and if you are playing ranked matches this can truly be frustrating and take away from the gameplay.

Overall, there is a lot of fun to be had in Super Street Fighter IV to keep you coming back for hours, especially being played online with a fight stick or fight pad making you feel like you are back in the arcade dropping in quarters and waiting in line to take on the next player in the arcade like you have something to prove. Though it is hard to justify picking this up if you already own Street Fighter IV, if you enjoyed it and put in the hours and days into Street Fighter titles past like I have, this in my opinion is worth adding to the collection.

Mashbuttons.com gives Super Street Fighter IV a 9 out of 10 for those yet to purchase Street Fighter IV and a 7 out of ten for those that already own a copy.

Super Street Fighter IV is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Toy Story 3 looks, um, fun?

Disney Interactive released its trailer for their movie game yes I know I said movie game, but don't let that turn you away from the game or write it off as something you would get for a little sibling. After watching the trailer, I am strangely intrigued to see just how fun it will be, and easily something I can buy for myself with the excuse of it being for my daughter. The Toy Box mode looks fully customizable to make and play through your created levels.

Being a sniper just got real

Sniper: Ghost Warrior has just been announced for release on June 8th and the gimmick behind this title is not the typical run and gun, but more of a simulator where, you, the sniper has to face the elements to hit your target. Elements such as rain, fog, and the glare of sunlight will be making your job tough to move with stealth and strategy to accomplish mission objectives.

Alpha Protocol dialogue system feels strangely familiar

The most recent video from Sega for the upcoming Alpha Protocol and their Dialogue Stance System and after viewing the video I am wondering if Commander Sheppard left the Normandy to become a spy as is looks familiar to the system found in Mass Effect. The DSS system will allow the player to show off just how sadistic or compassionate gamers can really be.

Monster Hunter Tri | Review

Synopsis: The Monster Hunter franchise has just found its way to the Wii with their recent release of Monster Hunter Tri, which has already been available for a while overseas, but now all of us stateside get our chance to become a hunter. Capcom has provided us with a review copy of the title along with the new Classic Pro controller so that you, our devoted viewers will hear exactly what all this hype is really about. Monster Hunter Tri is an action RPG, where gameplay is based on quests where you, the hunter, kill monsters on land and sea to develop your character and rebuild a small island city. Players have the ability to use the remote and nunchuk, classic remote, or the new classic pro controller along with the ability to save their hunter to the remote so that you can take your hunter with you to play on other Wii consoles. To add to the gameplay, available modes are single player with AI controlled characters named ChaCha, two player coop arena battles, and four player online hunting.

Praise: This is not my first experience with the Monster Hunter franchise, however, my experience with the early PSP iterations were rather mediocre in my opinion and hard to get into. It seems Capcom has resolved this issue to newcomers with a user friendly tutorial that is given to the player throughout gameplay rather than an hour of text all at once. The graphics of the monsters and environments are stunning for the Wii and looks like the developer is really trying to push the console to its limits, also the cinematic are stunning, making me forget that I am playing a game on the Wii, especially with the classic pro controller. Character development is rather in depth from creating your own unique hunter when starting a new game to seeing how armor and weapons change using resources from monsters killed to increase your weapon and armor statistics. One thing that made me realize Capcom was not messing around in the development of this title was that as the player progresses through the story, not only do the monsters develop and use strategy by hiding and ganging up on your hunter, but also the city you are helping progresses and grows with the resources you provide.

Gripes: While this game was not without flaws, there were a few issues encountered shortly after starting the story, how much these issues take away from the experience depends on what you focus on, so here comes what I have encountered after ten plus hours of gameplay. My biggest issue was the control while attacking, as you cannot change the direction of your attack mid combo, so if the monster you are attacking moves; you are then just swinging at air. Depending on the weapon used, this could lead to your unfortunate demise. I have not spent any time with the two player arena battles, but was able to play the four player online hunting and experienced the game freezing once out of the handful of times in which I was online. Lastly, playing this title on an HD television, I noticed that the text was blurry. Though the graphics are great for a Wii, I have heard from others with this title that playing on a standard definition TV does not experience this issue.

Overall, fans of the series will like all that this title has to offer and newcomers that are fans of action RPG titles with mass amounts of character development and grinding will feel at home with this title. The ability to save your hunter to your remote will prove to those around you how geek you really are carrying around your remote with you in hopes to get your hunt on the go. Enough of this review, I am now off to get my hunt on until if have to set it aside for my next title to review. Oh and by the way, lots of replay value as you can create multiple characters to master the ten plus weapon classes. Enjoy!

Mashbuttons.com gives Monster Hunter Tri a 9 out of 10.

Monster Hunter Tri is available now for the Nintendo Wii.

First screens and Cover Athlete info on Madden 32, I mean Madden 11

EA has started the Madden 11 marketing train, and it's gaining some steam with the release of the first few images as well as the news of this year's cover athlete.  If you're into the Madden series (which a good amount of you are), you may not need me to tell you who's on the cover above, but I had to rely on good old marketing materials.  It's New Orleans' Saints QB Drew Brees.  Who?  Oh, I don't know, I guess he's someone good though, won some All-Star Bowl or something with a ring.  I kid, I kid.  We hear the demo is dropping in late July, so be sure to stop on by to keep up with all the latest trailers, screenshots and info.

>>Begin screens of Quarterbacks in various, yet similar poses

Madden 11 is out on every gaming system on earth, in early August

New Blur Beta video

It's Friday at noon - time for another Blur video!  This one is all about the beta (or beeta), which is available now exclusively on Xbox Live.  Be sure to check out the beta before the game releases on May 25th. 

Splinter Cell: Conviction | Review

Ubisoft sent us their latest entry into the veritable Splinter Cell series; a fairly radical departure from previous versions in the franchise, one that's been met with some criticism, both positive and negative.

Sam Fisher, formerly of the NSA's Third Echelon, is now on a mission of the most personal of varieties.  He's trying to uncover the trail on his daughter's killer, and in doing so will set off a sequence of events that will force him to work with (and trust) those from his past, some of which have already betrayed him.  It's a full-blown spy extravaganza, with more double-crosses than a Jason Bourne film, and Ubisoft packages it all up in a beautifully detailed cinematic presentation.  With no loading screens, or "mission brief's", you constantly in full-breach mode, utilizing your every weapon, gadget and new game-play mechanics to work towards your goal.

Another page from the Book of Naughty

505 games has been busy as hell putting out videos left and right of ways to take out of so cuddly stuffed bears. In this most recent video you see exactly what happens when you happen to shove a stuffed animal into a campfire. Though I am still on the fence about this game, it does look rather dark and entertaining, like what I would expect to see if Conker's Bad Fur Day and Manhunt were to make a love child.

Go deeper into hell on the 29th with a buddy

EA has sent over a new video regarding the new paid DLC for Dante's Inferno, titled Trials of St. Lucia. This developer video shows how to navigate through the lobby of trials whether it be submitted by EA or created by the community and offers the ability to play through in two player co-op. Trials of St. Lucia will be available on April 29th, 2010 worldwide for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 | Screenshots

Following up on the announcement of the sequel to Bionic Commando today, we wanted to bring you a slew of new screenshots to peruse.  You can check out the teaser trailer here, screenshots below.

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 gets best feature upgrade ever! | Game Announcement

Oh Bionic Commando, you have such a repertoire of skills and talents.  You have a robotic, "go-go-gadget" arm, you can employ advanced weaponry and gadgets, and now, finally, you can jump!  I'm sure glad those legs you have finally work for more than just running.

Hot off the heels of Capcom's "CAPTIVATE 2010" Showcase comes the first news on a sequel to the XBLA/PSN re-make of Bionic Commando: Rearmed, fittingly named, Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2.  You return as Nathan Spencer, and with your newly found legs, and your trusty bionic arm, you'll face new foes, in new environments with new flair!

Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 will be available Q1 2011 for both XBLA and the PSN.  Stay tuned for more updates as they release.  Check out the launch trailer below.

Resident Evil 5 “LOST IN NIGHTMARES” DLC | Guest Review

Hey Resident Evil fans!  Below you'll find our review of Capcom's first DLC pack for Resident Evil 5, "Lost in Nightmares", reviewed by our good friend Justin.  I know this is out a bit late, but we had to find someone who still had the game, and more importantly, someone we trusted to put the Mashbuttons name on.  After his review, you can be certain Mashbutton fully backs his review score.  Enjoy!

For those that played Resident Evil 5 when it was released in March of '09, Lost in Nightmares may be too little, too late. I on the other hand only recently began playing RE5 and found this "untold chapter" to come at just the right time to keep my interest and wanting to play more. This prequel chapter to RE5 follows Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine on a mission to the founder of Umbrella, Ozwell Spencer's, mansion estate. Fans of the original will feel right at home from the opening sequence and dialogue to the final battle. There is even a method by which you can change your camera angle from 3rd person to the fixed angle of the first.

This chapter is more puzzle solving than action, though as it progresses you will find opportunities to face a new creature in occasional combat. There are fun and interesting methods to face these foes from outright evasion to trap setting and one-on-one combat. I was lucky enough to enjoy RE5 with the company of a friend and I was happy to be able to continue the adventure with them. When the chapter came to a close, it was a welcome addition to a story that was fresh in my mind

If, like many, you no longer have your RE5 disc, this content alone is not enough to bring one back. However, for those that were unable to part ways with Chris and Sheva, enjoyed every replay of RE to unlock infinite ammo and Take It to the Max achievement, 400 MS is a reasonable price to revisit the world of RE. To Capcom, if you plan on using DLC to expand your stories and keep gamers interested, a year is too long to wait!

Mashbuttons gives Resident Evil: "Lost In Nightmares" an 8 out of 10


*Mashbuttons.com received DLC code from Capcom for review purposes

2K Games to be bringing back XCOM

Yesterday, 2K Games announced that the team behind BioShock 2, 2K Marin, is currently working on the re-imaging of the classic franchise, XCOM. This title is currently being developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PC and combines the strategic core of the original with a suspenseful narrative with a tense first-person shooter. In this iteration of the franchise, the player is put in the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identify and eliminating the unknown enemy that is becoming a growing threat against humanity.

Ditch the board games this Summer for Guilty Party on the Wii

Disney Interactive Studios has just announced the release date for Guilty Party, their video game version of Clue for the Wii. This family friendly title has been receiving a lot a positive feedback recently and it appears that the studio is giving families and gamers something to do indoors to avoid the summer heat as the title is scheduled to release on July 27th. Guilty Party puts players in the role of detectives solving crimes using the Wii remote as detective tools to thwart the criminal mastermind Mr. Valentine. The stand out feature for me is that after the crime is solved, players can play again with a different set of tools for a new experience every time.

This is how Kane and Lynch handle papparazzi

IO Interactive, Square Enix, and the bromantic Kane and Lynch have brought us the box art for the summer release, Kane and Lynch 2. Though it is only the box art, it seems that more assets are starting to appear for this title which means we should soon start to see more trailers and gameplay video to whet your whistle. This title puts player in Shanghai through 48 hours of hell as seen through the view of that misdirected Lynch, while he and Kane are against the entire city. Kane and Lynch 2 is scheduled to release late this Summer for the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 and is said to leave a trail of bodies, bullet shells, and illegitimate children in its wake, so um, enjoy?

Prison Break: The Conspiracy | Review

Synopsis: You like prison, TV, and sneaking? I thought so; well I have a review for you then! Deep Silver provided me with a review copy of their latest title, Prison Break: The Conspiracy, and for fans of the TV series that are on the fence, which I am sure most of you are, we got a review for you specifically. In this title, you take on the role of Tom Paxton and “The Company” sends you undercover to Fox River Penitentiary to see how Michael Scofield was sent to the same prison as his brother, Lincoln Burrows. The story and game design was developed by the same writers of the TV series with the original voices to provide the same feeling and intensity of the show. A little disclaimer for fans of the show before starting the review, I have not seen the TV series, so my review may not address the continuity and possible inaccuracies between the show and the game.

Praise: I found this title to be rather entertaining, it had fun gameplay, tense moments and actually made me want to check out the TV series. The gameplay focuses on stealth elements, and a number of quick time events. The visuals look rather good at most times and make the characters easily recognizable. Like the title says, the game focuses on a conspiracy which unravels with each chapter, keeping the player engrossed in the story to see what happens next, while providing development to your characters skills and relationships with the number of groups within the prison. I was more than a little apprehensive regarding the heavy stealth elements, but it works really well for this title, unfortunately there are parts to it that could have been done better in execution, but where the gameplay lacks, the story and environment make up for it. Achievements are handed out left and right, which I like, just playing through the entire game will get you around nine hundred achievement points.

Gripes: You know how I said the achievement points were a good thing? It also has a downside, as it takes away from the replay value of this title as you will have most of the achievement points in your first playthrough and will not have much reason to go back and play it again as you know how the story will end. When fighting, I felt that the controls were too simple as you press one button for a regular attack, another for a heavy attack, then one last button to finish off your opponent once their health is depleted. Lastly, knowing when you have to use stealth and hide from guards is hard to determine in the prison, so I would have to retry not knowing what areas I was allowed to be out in the open and seen by the guards.

Overall, Prison Break was fun and entertaining, even though I had never seen an episode of the show. I think this would be something fans of the should would really like as it feels like watching the show while having control and seeing the story through your character’s eyes along with being able to complete missions a number of different ways. I must admit, that every time I see a shower in the game I do get a little scared.

Mashbuttons.com gives Prison Break: The Conspiracy a 7 out of 10.

Prison Break: The Conspiracy is available now for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

New trailer available for Split/Second

So I am now officially torn on whether to get Split/Second or Blur. After playing the Beta for Blur I was hooked, however, after seeing all the gameplay trailers and videos of Split/Second, I am officially back on the fence. I have attached the most recent Downtown trailer for Split/Second for all to check out and give me your thoughts as to which you will choose. I think, like Blur, we should get a Beta, you know for comparison reasons until each come out.

Just Cause 2 gets free in game ice cream truck, yes please!

As a thank you to their fans, the Just Cause 2 team thought it would be nice to give all their fans a free vehicle to help wreak havoc on the quaint little island of Panau. The free vehicle is the "Chevalier Ice Breaker", which can better be described as the ice cream truck from hell.This welcome present to accompany my favorite recent sandbox title comes fully equipped with lowered suspension, aluminum wheels, body kit, and front bull bars make it easier to drive straight up your opponents...

F.E.A.R. 3 announced to release this Fall

That's right horror FPS fans, the beloved F.E.A.R. series is coming out with another entry and it looks like it will not disappoint. I know the below trailer has very little gameplay footage, but it does have that creepy Alma again and she has a bun in the oven! New to the series will be co-op gameplay along with the combat, action, and narrative that kept me losing sleep playing through the second game. To help with the scare, John Carpenter is providing his input in the creation of this entry, do we really need more?

First images from Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

In what will be the 4th entry into the venerable Resident Evil Motion Picture Franchise (REMPF), Paul W.S. Anderson directs Mila "Leeloo Dallas Multi-pass" Jovovich, and Ali "Whipcream Bikini" Larter in the series first foray into 3D titled Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D 

The REMPF has always done a respectable job as videogame-to-film entertainment, and we've got the first few images.  Let us know what you think.  Do we really need another RE movie?  No, but they sure are alot of fun to watch.

EA announces iPad games today

In keeping with the EA-meets-iphone/ipad stories today, here's another one for you.  EA announces 5 new games made with the unique iPad in mind.  You won't even have you iPad until tomorrow, but by golly you can get these games today!

SCRABBLE

Tetris

Need for Speed SHIFT

Mirror's Edge

Command & Conquer Red Alert

EA throws an iPhone Sale!!!

Just in time for the release of the iPad, EA is preemptively having themselves a sale on 25 of their iPhone titles for a limited time.  Keep in mind, that if you're planning on picking up an iPad tomorrow, you will be able to play all of these games on it; and look at you for saving a pretty penny while doing it.  Kudos!

There are a few stand-out titles, such as Monopoly ($2.99), Wolfenstein RPG ($0.99), and Mass Effect Galaxy ($0.99).  See the full list of titles and prices, after the break.  Sale runs through April 5th.

Samurai Showdown Sen | Review

Synopsis: Fan of fighting titles and tired of being stuck playing the few decent ones that are aged and need something fresh? Well XSEED sent us a review copy of Samurai Showdown Sen, the most recent fighting title to hit the Xbox 360. Sen, the eleventh title in the series brings back thirteen familiar favorites from the previous Samurai Showdown titles along with bringing in eleven newcomers to the latest iteration of the series to the Xbox 360. To celebrate the 17th anniversary of the franchise which focused on weapons based one on one fighting; SNK Playmore has made Sen, their most brutal entry to date with high resolution 3D visuals. Online matches are also available with a worldwide online ranking system to keep replay value high after mastering your character of choice.

Praise: With all the fighting titles that have come out in the past year it really comes down to personal preference. Samurai Showdown Sen offers a lot of everything from the weapon based combat seen in Soul Caliber, brutal moves similar to mortal combat, while still holding true to the style and moves of the original Samurai Showdown titles I grew up on. The graphical refresh is a nice improvement with the 3D visuals of the character and the detailed historic looking environments. I had started playing with the arcade fight stick, but feel that with the controls of this title and layout of buttons, it was actually easier to play with the Xbox controller, which is better for those without the fight stick. The impressive roster has something for every type of fighter from speed to power to skilled and the brutal finishes were nice without being too over the top.

Gripes: I had a couple issues with the game on my number of playthroughs with multiple characters and the first thing would be the speed of gameplay, it seems to be slower than most of the other recent titles out there. The difficulty is on par with other similar titles until you reach the first of the two bosses, Draco, which wields a shotgun, and if he starts spraying you with lead, the match is over. Lastly is the online play, while I tend to play single player to unlock hidden character and to polish my mad skills, but fighters are meant to be played online and the community for the title seems to be a little weak at first, so finding a match was rather difficult at times.

Overall, Samurai Showdown Sen is a solid fighter which will have fans of the franchise very happy, but may not reach too many outside of that group. There is a lot of replay value and there would be even more if the online community were larger. With a price tag of $49.99, it is nice to see a new game release cheaper than the normal sixty dollar release date price tag while still offering all the gameplay modes and features seen in other more expensive titles.

Mashbuttons.com gives Samurai Showdown Sen a 7 out of 10.

Samurai Showdown Sen is available now for the Xbox 360.