Thursday, July 29, 2010

Conduit 2 box art boasts fire and features


Sega has just released the box art for the upcoming Conduit 2. Admittedly I did not play the first Conduit title due to issues I heard regarding the controls, but after following news on this sequel, I am looking to see what the sequel will be bringing to the table.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Time to break out the fight stick, Continuum Shift shipped today


Thats right joystick junkies, it is that time again to pick your fighter, master their moves and take this fight online. This time there is no Ken, Ryu, Cammy, or Bison because BlazBlue is back with a sequel to last years blockbuster, toting the name Continuum Shift. Unique features to this release is beginner, tutorial, and challenge mode along with creating your own army in legion mode, and lastly the new characters.

Intense look behind the scenes of Kane and Lynch 2

Boasting more videos than a B-list celebrity looking to turn their career around, is a behind the scenes look at just how INTENSE the game is. Intense is the word that describes the development of this title, and well...take a look for yourself of the behind the scenes to Kane and Lynch 2: Intens....er, I mean Dog Days.

Monday, July 26, 2010

NCAA Football 2011 Review

Living in Phoenix, Arizona there is only one thing that keeps my sanity in July and that is the release of the newest NCAA Football game from EA. Every year I wonder how they will top the previous year’s version; and every year they find a way.

The Good: They've made great strides on the presentation of the game thanks to their partnership with ESPN.  Having ESPN’s presentation style to the game makes it feel much more real than previous. Couple this with new pregame entrances by the players and better game lighting and you have a game that looks and feels amazing.
Boys throwing balls

The most important aspect to any sports game, for me, is the dynasty element. EA redid the menus of the dynasty to give is a well overdue make-over. Also receiving a well overdue make-over was recruiting. By removing the football emoticon style of talking to the recruit and replacing it with a randomized pitch has greatly sped up the process.
Boys running with balls

The Bad: Well, this section should be short because there really isn’t much to complain about. But if I had to be nit-picky, I would work on further expanding the customization of each player; more for the actual look of the player, more for uniforms and allows for player’s uniform numbers to be duplicated (1 player on offense and 1 player on defense could both be number 22, for example). I’m a Washington State Cougar alumni so I would like to see WSU’s correct pre-game entrance in the game as well as Butch (Cougar mascot) to look less like a crack head. Finally, more variations to post touchdown celebrations. After scoring a touchdown I want to do more than just jump up and down or take a knee.
Ah - let me just jump over this

In Conclusion: Every year there is the crowd that debates whether it is worth it or not to spend $60 on the new year’s game because they have the previous year’s version. And to answer those people, I say yes, it is well worth it. I give NCAA Football 2011 a 9 out of 10.

NCAA Football 2011 is available now for XBox 360, PlayStation 3, PS2, etc

Tournament of Legends | Review


Synopsis: Are you a fan of mythological creatures, fighting games, and over the top voice overs? Tournament of Legends recently released for the Nintendo Wii and Sega was generous enough to send me a review copy to dissect and get my thoughts of time spent with their title to you devoted gamers. In Tournament of Legends, you are able to play as one of ten fighters out of the box from a Valkyrie to a Minotaur, with two unlockable fighters to boot. This is a 3D fighter supporting up to two players that allows gameplay with either the remote and nunchuk or my fave, the classic controller. Let’s get on with the review of this epic fighter of massive proportions.

Praise: It’s a fighter, and if you’re a fan of fighting titles, even bad ones are fun for a while, but being that there aren’t many games in this genre for the Wii, Tournament of Legends has enough appeal to make it the best option for fighting fans that are no longer playing Tatsunoko vs Capcom or Super Smash Bros Brawl. There are many features that are a great fit, but the most unique in my opinion is that you are able to earn and use different weapons and magical abilities throughout gameplay to use to your advantage in between fights. Also, is the chance to replenish health and knocked of armor in between rounds by spinning the joysticks frantically. In regards to the characters, Sega has presented a pretty solid line up as each fighter is from some myth I have idolized at one point or another, along with the environment to go along with each fighter. I also like that both you and your opponent can lose pieces of armor, increasing vulnerability to finish the match more brutally as your weapon will land more hits and land them harder with each piece of armor lost.

Gripes: My biggest issue is a tough call between two things that are pretty important in fighting games. First, is that there is no online play, so if you want to play against someone besides the computer, you will have to have a friend over or teach your pets to use the use the Wii. This is big issue to me as I tend to only play single player when I am getting used to a specific fighter before seeing where I rank against other real people. Movement is frustrating at times because you can’t move while attacking, so if you are pounding buttons you are stuck attacking in that direction and when you are done flailing, the movement is a bit sluggish regardless to which fighter you pick. While it is nice to have additional variety in the Wii fighter genre, the graphics, looked like something out of a previous generation console, and even though graphics tend to be the last thing I criticize when playing a game, it just seems like even a certain fighting game on my iPod touch looks better than this.

Overall, if your system is not connected to the internet and you like fighters and mythological creatures, you will like this game. There are weapons, abilities and characters to unlock to keep you coming back for more. However, if you prefer to take your fighters online, you may be disappointed. The good news is that this title released at the affordable price of $29.99, so you have to ask yourself what is it you need in a fighter before dropping the cash to play as a god.

Mashbuttons.com gives Tournament of Legends a 6 out of 10.

Tournament of Legends is available now for the Nintendo Wii.

New Assassin's Creed Brotherhood trailer comes from Comic-Con

I was unable to attend Comic-Con but as a fan the recent Assassin's Creed, the new Brotherhood multiplayer trailer that was shown at Comic-Con has me chomping at the bit. Aside from hidden weapons and recruiting assassins, the trailer looks amazing! Check it out.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead Guest Review


We were recently provided with a review copy of ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead and since neither Joey nor I have gaming PC’s, we brought in a guest writer, Sean Redfield. Though Sean may be in high school, he has more FPS experience than Joey and I combined. Operation Arrowhead takes place three years after the original ArmA II game, with a new heated escalation which results in the US Army being sent in to save the day in this latest expansion. On with the review.

As you all know Armed Assault 2 Operation Arrowhead is a tactical shooter. Adding to the already real time effect, you also take control by command squads mates through battle. When shooting, either from your weapon or your enemy’s, neither are blessed with forgiving accuracy in hitting the target. In regards to the visual aesthetics of the game, the graphics were spectacular and on the gameplay front, controls are simple and easy to learn. However, all good things come with a price, unfortunately the controls lagging a bit was the only issue I had with this big, content filled game. So big, that there are eighty different types of guns, grenades, and other weapons to go along with the 130 plus vehicles to control. Vehicles range from standard vehicles to tanks, to black hawk helicopters.

You may also know that this is a expansion to the original ArmA 2. Fear not, because you do not need the previous games to start this one, however, if you do have the original, then your information can be integrated into the expansion. Operation Arrowhead is different if not better then ArmA2 because of the new units, vehicles, weapons, campaigns, and 3 new maps to explore and conquer.

Mashbuttons.com gives this game 9 out of 10 because of everything you can do, but my issue was always the over correcting effect.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Bizarre behind upcoming Bond

That is right, just announce from the horse's mouth, James Bond Blood Stone is Bizarre's next project, and the extra dose of sprinkles to this news is the trailer found below. Enjoy!

She Geek has WOW Cataclysm keys to give away

That's right WOW fans, you too can have one of five keys if you beg, ask really nicely, or just plain convince her to give you one, check out her weekly video below.

Sega planning to bring Thor to console gamers


First, there was the Iron Man franchise and now Sega is planning on making Thor for Marvel fans and gamers alike. The scheduled release of this franchise is expected for 2011 across multiple platforms. Sega has stated that each console will get a unique version of the title, but will all feature third person action. I know it isn't much info, but knowing Sega, there will be a lot more coming soon to Thor fans.

Lara is back in downloadable form, this time with a partner

That's right, Tomb Raider is coming back this summer, toting the Guardian of light suffix along with coop gameplay and being downloadable on XBLA, PSN, and PC. Not being a fan of the previous titles, this has indeed sparked some interest. Guardian of light is scheduled for release on August 18th as part of the annual Summer of Arcade for 1200 MS Points. The new trailer can be found below.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Commercial or Trailer?

You make the call. Atari has provided the below video showing off the Aston Martin supercar to be appearing in Test Drive Unlimited 2. But my confusion after watching the video, was wondering where the financing and lease details were to purchase the car as it really didn't show any gameplay footage. I will admit, it is a nice car, but aren't they made by ford?

Nintendo to keep fans busy this week at Comic Con


We all know that gaming influence is quickly getting a larger share of voice at Comic Con at years past, but this year Nintendo is bringing out the big guns, two to be specific. The first is for those fans of Dragon Quest IX that bring their DS and copy of the game, will get access to a special downloadable treasure map called Mortamor. The other news from Nintendo will that attendees will get to play portions of Metroid: Other M in advance.

Mario sitting on one million galaxy 2 copies sold


For June, 548 thousand copies were sold sending the total sales to more than 1.1 million for Galaxy 2. Not too shabby for a remake of the original adding Yoshi and a couple new suits. On top of exceeding one million copies sold, Nintendo systems hit a combined 933 thousand units.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Finally, limited edition comes with more than an art book

EA has announced that the upcoming FPS, Medal of Honor, that does not take place during World War II, will be making a limited edition available to consumers. The limited edition will include early access to a weapon used by Tier 1 Operators, the MP7 along with day one access to other weapons such as TOZ-194 and 870MC2 shotguns, rather than leveling up to unlock these weapons. Check out the video below for some gameplay footage that includes said weapons.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Kane and Lynch 2 goes gold and brings better news


For those of you that have been playing the invite only multiplayer demo of Dog Days,are already looking forward to the release of the much anticipated sequel to the bromantically explicit action game. You may need to sit down for this or polish up on your heist abilities or both because Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days is releasing a week early with a release of August 17th in the states and August 20 in Europe.

What the Dickens? Its the official Guilty Party trailer

Disney Interactive is introducing those savvy sleuths that make up Dickens Detective Agency from the upcoming Wii whodunit which is Disney Guilty Party. DGP is a family friendly mystery game which we told you about a couple months ago, but now you get to meet that cast and learn of the August 31st release date.

Singularity | Review

You know, we just received our review copy from Activision on their latest FPS, Singularity, and I admit, I had little to no knowledge going in on what to expect.  Developed by Raven Software, (latest Wolfenstein, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, etc), I did have a high expectation of a solid game with plenty of polish.  I was not disappointed.  In fact, I'm going to come out and say, this is one of the greatest games of the year that most will never even play.
It's a shame really, that there hasn't been any real marketing put behind this game, and I'm not sure where the blame falls there, but that's why it's our jobs to let you know which games to pick up.  So continue reading for the full review, but I understand if you want to go out and pick it up first.
Welcome back, Singularity is a FPS, but one with a time-manipulation element that sets it apart from the growing list of FPS available today.  Set on a fictional island, Katorga-12, off the cost of Russia, in current times.  Back in the 50's, a newly element (E-99) was disovered on this island, which posses powers, that when harnessed, give the ability of manipulating time.  What starts as a fairly standard opening, quickly changes when you arrive on the island after an EMP goes off, downing your helicopter and separating you from your crew.  Shortly after you try to make your way back to your partner, you are swept up in a time-wave that sends you back to when the island was populated with Russian scientists.  You're in a burning building, and the events that unfold will alter the very timeline of history as we know it.  After you phase out of this event, things already look a little different than when you first arrived, setting the stage for a pretty fantastic sci-fi story.  Add in a dash of horror, and you have one of the best games that no one knows about.
Gameplay consists of plenty of firefights, but soon you'll gain access to the TMD (Time Manipulation Device) which has been miniaturized, and now rests on your left hand, a'la the Nintendo Power Glove from that '80's movie, The Wizard.  This device allows you to revert objects back in time, or to progress them forward.  A neat concept that opens up the way for some light puzzle-elements into the game.  Oh, you can also use it to literally turn enemies to dust, if that's your thing.  As you progress, you find TMD blueprints and other weapon upgrades that allow you to "spend" your E-99 tech on much needed enhancements and abilities.  This system borrows heavily from Dead Space, in that you have to earn Equipment Upgrade Tech and then find a Weapons Locker to upgrade your various available weapons.  By the time you reach the end of the game, you're arsenal and powers are so strong that you literally feel unstop able, and the game does an excellent job of conveying that feeling of power.  I imagine this is what it'd be like to have enough midi-cloreans to call upon the Force.
Graphics and presentation are pretty top notch here.  Utilizing the now-infamous Unreal Engine, Raven has designed a quality game, that uses the full color palette, where most games that use the Unreal tech, look brown, and grays, Singularity really takes a more colorful approach and in my opinion, the game looks sharp. 

The only negative that I'd have to point out, is the single-player game isn't terribly long, the average FPS gamer will get through it in about 8-10 hours, but the story may even benefit from the restricted play time.  Also, the game is a little linear, and once you come to the conclusion (of which you'll have three choices), you'll likely not play it again, as the twists are most impactful upon first play-through.  Stick around for the after-credits video as well for a little surprise, and hope that there's a sequel on the way.

Singularity is available now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

Friday, July 9, 2010

New HAWX 2 tralier takes you to the danger zone

Today Ubisoft sent the first trailer for the sequel to quite possibly my favorite flight combat game to date, H.A.W.X. 2. Though danger zone was NOT playing in the background, watching the trailer managed to get it stuck in my head and drool a little from the futuristic planes to the fun fast paced action of the original which I played through in a matter of two days. This will be a day one purchase for me in Fall of 2010.

Pre order Vanquish and get free content


Yes, I said it, but here is the catch...if you pre order vanquish from Gamestop, you get a free weapon pack. Not real weapons, but in game weapons. And what are these weapons, you may ask. Well there are three, consisting of a boost machine gun, anti-armor pistol, and laser cannon. Vanquish is scheduled to be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 19th.

Transformers: War for Cybertron | Review


Synopsis: Is War for Cybertron a movie game, or do we finally have a Transformers game that has absolutely nothing to do with anything Shia Labeouf has had his hands on? Moving on, we have received our review copy of Transformers: War for Cybertron, and after repeatedly being disappointed by the previously released Transformers titles, I am happy to review Activision’s recent iteration in hopes of a fun game. As you start the game you choose your side in the battle between Optimus and Megatron on Cybertron before the epic fight is brought to earth. Each side of the battle has five campaigns and three transformers to choose from between each campaign and though there are individual campaigns for each side, each are intertwined in some form or another. This third person shooter is more than a single player fight from the perspective of hero or villain, you can also fight in three player online coop, and there are always the competitive head to head multiplayer matches.

Praise: It is not based on a Transformers movie and for that alone, I like it! I wish I could say I am kidding but the last movie game that I actually enjoyed was Wolverine, so back to War for Cybertron. The controls were more complex, simply because you can switch into the vehicle mode at anytime, but it doesn’t take long to get used to, because the controls are relatively similar to the Call of Duty games. The story is engaging from the start regardless to which side you choose, of course my dark side had me start as Megatron out to capture dark energon and gain control, but when I played as Bumble Bee, because I cannot bring myself to play as Optimus; you start your campaign with a different view of how the battle started. The environments are dark and massive, while still giving you the feeling that your Transformer is this massive force to be reckoned with, while the lighting is dark, it is easy to make out the enemy as the Autobots have red accent lighting to them and Decepticons have purple accentuations to them. Coop gameplay is seamless as you do not have to wait for teammates to join before starting and if they drop out, you do not have to start the mission over again, while having up to two teammates, makes the gameplay entertaining.

Gripes: I have spent a couple hours online, and was unable to get into the multiplayer the same way I previously got hooked on Blur or Modern Warfare’s multiplayer gameplay. It has the same online system where you level up and can make your transformer unique after leveling up with weapons, perks, and abilities, but the only difference I feel between this and Call of Duty, is that it is a third person shooter and the maps seem to be significantly smaller. Trying to make your way from waypoint to waypoint through the missions had been frustrating at times due to the locations of your objectives being unclear as to where you need to go.
Lastly, the collision mechanics seem to have a couple bugs as there were numerous times where I would jump or double jump onto a platform and wouldn’t be able to get to the desired point without moving over to the left or right some and trying again.

As a fan of Transformers, the toys and the cartoons, not the movies, I enjoyed my time spent with this title. After trying hard to enjoy the previous releases, Activision did this right, and I am happy that I never gave up on the games as there is fun to be had and it was worth the wait. From the classic characters to the gameplay whether single player, coop, or online multiplayer, there is a lot of replay value.

Mashbuttons.com gives Transformers: War for Cybertron a more than meets the eye 9 out of 10.

Transformers: War for Cybertron is available now for the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Art book to be included as pre order bonus, as if you didn't already have enough incentive


If you haven't following our coverage of Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, now is a great time to start. The reason being that if you pre order from participating retailers, you will not only get the title but an art book consisting of 60 papges chock full of design and sketches spanning the Etrian Odyssey series.

Dragon Age 2 to consume my life March 2011


The sequel the uber epic RPG Dragon Age, had been announced shortly after release, but today we get word as to when it will be out along with details to what will ensue. With a new and more responsive combat system along with the story following Hawke's rise to power. Hawke is a survivor of the Blight and is the new hero that will transform the Dragon Age universe FOREVER!!!

Dragon Quest release due to conquer Rockefeller Plaza


Releasing on July 11th, Dragon Quest IX's stateside release is not something to be taken lightly by RPG fans. If you are in New York on July 10th, you are invited to the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza to experience all that this release has to offer in regards to it's multiplayer and customization. Everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to purchase the title a day in advance but the first 30 fans will get their copy signed by the series creator Yuji Horii.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

WOW Cataclysm brought to you by the She Geek

Well it's Kate, our new buddy from E3, and you will start seeing her weekly videos on MashButtons, just in case your tired of looking at our avatars. This week the She Geek proudly shares her time spent with WOW: Cataclysm Alpha testing. So you MMORPG fans, don't say we never give you love, here is your first WOW coverage on MashButtons.

NBA2K11 Box is bringing it back


That is right, you are looking at the box art for the upcoming NBA title from 2K Sports, and yes, that is Michael Jordan sporting the big 23. Expect this title to hit store shelves this October. First, NBA Jam is coming and now this, what's next?

Car Carnage in the form of reality TV coming to the PSP


Yes, that Michael Bay looking, highly addictive, racer that is chock full of triggers to take our your competitors is coming to the PSP. For those that are still not following, I am speaking of Split/Second. Now you don't have a reason to stay inside as you can now take it with you, well this holiday season you can.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum | Review


Synopsis: Neo Geo is pushing out fighting titles on XBLA this year like Activision is releasing Call of Duty titles and multiplayer maps. The most recent title provided to us is NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, which is a tag team two on two fighters consisting of new and old fighters that have appeared on NeoGeo systems on such titles as Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown, and King of Fighters. To give it that new car feel, SNK Playmore has redrawn the characters and backgrounds in high definition. Lastly, little did I know before doing my research on this title, but it was an arcade and PlayStation 2 title that was originally released in 2005. Without further ado, let’s see how SNK’s recent downloadable throwback fighting title stacks up in a genre that is making a large comeback.

Praise: Unlike SNK's previous fighting titles, battle coliseum has a large selection of competitors with a wide variety of fighting styles, although I still found it hard to stray from using Mr. Big and of course, the well-known Terry Bogart. Being that I am much more familiar with the move lists from Street Fighter IV, since that was the last fighter I have been playing, I felt it fitting to take advantage of the practice mode to get the moves down, then single player to see how I fare against computer AI, then finally ending with Xbox live multiplayer to see how I rank worldwide with the occasional trash talking. Surprisingly, the online aspect of the game has a pretty active community, as it seems a lot of Xbox live arcade titles tend to be harder to find matches nowadays. The gameplay is a lot of fun as fighting is fast paced and actions are very responsive while the character editor allows you to adjust the colors of characters and outfits, providing individuality to your fighters when playing online.

Gripes: I do have to address some things I noticed while reviewing this title starting with the graphics. SNK Playmore boasts that this has been redrawn in high definition, however, the appearance while playing does not appear to look that way. The backgrounds looks bright and flashy, however, the characters looks rather flat and jagged. Though I do have a decent fight stick to use when playing this genre of games, However, I realize a lot of our viewers may not own one, so upon playing Battle Coliseum with the Xbox controller, matches can be rather unforgiving, sometimes resulting in what looks like you are stuck in a glitch leaving you vulnerable to be hit until you pull off the intended move. Lastly, it is not too hard to find a match if you set the region to worldwide, but if you try to refine the matchmaking to region for example, it usually will not find a match and can take a while to find an opponent if you choose to create match.

All in all, I really do not have any problems with battle coliseum as the gamplay was solid and was able to find matches quickly most of the time. If graphics are important, then you may quickly be turned off to this title, but if you have ever been a fan of any SNK fighter, then you will have a good time with this, plus the 800 Microsoft points price tag is another great incentive to purchase as there is a good amount of replay value behind this throwback. So who will you choose to enter the coliseum and do you have what it takes to make it through?

Mashbuttons.com gives NeoGeo Battle Coliseum an 7.5 out of 10.

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is available now for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 takes you to Ibiza

This recent trailer shows your the tropical island of Ibiza in which you will be calling home as you race through cliffs, beaches, towns, seaports, and off road trails. This is looking to be a very good looking game and the soundtrack is proving to be just as spectacular with dance hits from such world renowned artists as Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, and more.

Mafia II devs take you behind the scenes of Empire Bay

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and now that the fireworks have settled, 2K Games is providing an insider look to the world of Empire Bay and the citizens that occupy it. In this behind the scenes video, we all get a chance to see how the mid century period is brought to life as accurately as possible through architecture and music.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Here are parts 6 and 7 of the Portal 2 E3 demo



For those that have been following over the last few days, Valve has been providing demo videos for the Portal 2 that was shown to selected groups at E3. Well, here is the last two parts and on a good note, it ends with Glados, I think I love that crazy broad. Well, enjoy and we will keep you posted to anything else released Portal related.