Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate | Bringing tag team to your console

Team Ninja has created another version of their high kicking fighter and Konami has recently released Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Ultimate comes packing some additional features found in the Vita’s Plus version that were not available to DOA5 on the consoles. On top of previously seen and requested play modes, Ultimate also includes classic stages and new fighters, Rachel and Momiji from Ninja Gaiden. The same fun and anatomically exaggerated brawler experienced in DOA5 is there, but the majority of the of the new options are dedicated to the online play, with arcade style matches and tournaments. We have had our time with Plus, it is time to bring that same experience to the big screen.

I will start with my favorite new feature to Plus that is now available on the console, 2 on 2 tag play in online matches. Throughout my time spent trying to win against the bad of the bad, I had no problem finding people to challenge, unfortunately that did not really help me. I have always enjoyed but equally sucked at this brawler in comparison to the 2D fighters, luckily the improved tutorial is also included from the portable version. Similar to the 2D Street Fighter, Ultimate has added character points, grades, and titles to show off accomplishments or to make me feel warm and fuzzy winning an online match after a long losing streak. The bad, this is easily the lobby music, sure it sounds hip and got me amped for my first match, but it looping over and over again soon became tortuous. I said finding opponents was no challenge, the caveat to that is if you open up the filters there is no problem, but once you starting tweaking online settings, the community dwindles.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate was exactly what I expected, a more polished version of DOA 5 with the inclusion of previous DLC and new content. I would easily suggest that anyone who has not had the chance to experience DOA 5 would benefit most as this is how the game was meant to be played. As someone that already owns Plus on the Vita, it would be a hard sell to get me to purchase again to play from my console. For those that already own DOA 5 and do not want to pony up more money for the new features, there is Core Fighters, which is a Free to Play experience with the same gameplay seen in Ultimate but without the Story Mode and vast selection of fighters and costumes, those come with a price tag. Dead or Alive Ultimate is available now for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for the price of $39.99.

Castlevania: Lord of Shadows | Review

Synopsis: Konami has released its new console entry to the vampire slayer series and with a game that was a solid platformer on the handheld Nintendo DS, let’s see how it fares on the next gen consoles. In Lord of Shadows, you assume the role of Gabriel Belmont, member of the Brotherhood of Light, on a mission to destroy the Lord of Shadows and release his murdered wife from limbo. You will traverse across a world crawling with creatures of darkness wreaking chaos, using your combat cross to destroy these creatures and use their powers to bring balance back to this wasteland. This new entry is not your typical Castlevania title as this is more of a third person action adventure game puzzler rather than the platformer of past entries. This Belmont totes a combat cross over the trusted and effective whip, however, the cross is still able to be used as a whip and can also be upgraded to do much, much more. Will Lord of Shadows stand out as the next Castlevania entry or fall short like Lament of Innocence?

Praise: Belmont, check! Whip type weapon, check! Plethora of baddies to send back to hell, check! After being disappointed with Lament of Innocence, I was more than skeptical about the new release, and after playing five of what looks like twelve chapters, I am looking forward to completing this action filled vamp slayer. The graphics are stunning from the environment to the characters and the dramatic cut scenes. The action is fast and fluid; with the ability to unlock new moves and magical powers which play similar to other triple A action titles. With just shy of 10 hours about halfway through the story, there is a lot being offered by Konami and it looks like they made a lot of changes from the last attempt to make sure they did not make the same mistake twice. For all the completionists, Konami has made it so that this game won’t be completed in one playthrough by adding challenges to each level, and with to ability to upgrade skills, when you go back and replay levels, you will have access to areas that weren’t available the first time through.

Gripes: Yes, the Castlevania fanboy does have some issues with this entry and feels that the developers have strayed from their roots. First and foremost, where is the castle? You do fight in the obligatory castle, however, it seems as though the majority of the gameplay environments are forests, ruins, and cliffs. You will encounter familiar enemies as well, but there are also a lot of new enemies that I was not familiar with from the previous entries. In regards to the levels, each is around 20 to 30 minutes each, and each starts with a dialogue from a mysterious character, but the cut scenes are so gorgeous, I almost wish the dialogue was replaced with cut scenes as the majority of them are short in length. In regards to environment and camera controls, well, there is no camera controls, and I found myself jumping aimlessly at walls as many of times I would not be able to determine where I could or couldn’t go.

Overall, it is a Castlevania through and through. With lots and I mean lots of replay value for the hardcore fans and an enjoyable experience for those new to the franchise, Lord of Shadows is a great action adventure game. Little issues aside, that were rather frustrating at times, all was forgiven at each level complete screen. With a number of moves, magic abilities, and mounts, there is a countless number of ways to take down the supernatural enemies and epically large boss fights.

Mashbuttons.com gives Castlevania: Lord of Shadows an 8 out of 10.

Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair | Review

Synopsis: It has been a while since wanna be vampire slayers have been able to play a Castlevania title on anything other than a Nintendo handheld. Well the time has come for Konami to give back to its fans with the release of Harmony of Despair, exclusively for the Xbox Live Arcade. This iteration introduces features that are new to the series, changing up how you play Castlevania games. In Despair, the player gets to choose from a number of lead characters from Castlevanias past to take on the big, bad Dracula, but this time the battle can be taken online in an up to six player coop gameplay. On top of the online coop gameplay, a competitive survivor mode is available to slay other players. Now that I have been grinding single player and rushing multiplayer levels, here are my impressions of time spent with Koji Igarashi’s latest masterpiece, Harmony of Despair.

Praise: To start my review, I need to preface it by saying that this is not like the Castlevania titles you have played on the Nintendo handhelds, as there are six levels, all timed, and you do not level up. I know that sounds like all of the key elements to a Castlevania title, but there is still a lot of fun to be had, mainly with the online coop, as you and up to six other players storm each castle to loot for new items and make your way through large bosses until you get to take on Dracula. Each level is large and hard to explore all the rooms within the half hour time limit when playing alone, increasing replay value, but when playing coop it seems like plenty of time, and the best part is that if you or your teammates find a chest with items, everyone on the team gets the contents. If you die before completing the level, you still get to keep the items earned throughout the level to equip or sell before you retry.

Gripes: Not all change is considered good in my opinion as I am sure I value different aspects of games than most of our viewers and after spending a couple hundred hours with previous Castlevania titles, there are a number of things I wish went unchanged. The first being timed levels, sure it is enough time to play through the level but at the same time, it is not enough time to really explore the environment. The ability to level up is no longer available and the way in which you increase your character’s stats are by getting new equipment, either from chests or through the shop, and you are unable to change equipment and items on the fly, but have to do it from designated spots in each level. Lastly, the difficulty in single player is significantly harder than playing through cooperatively, resulting in repeated grinding to get money and new equipment to ease the physical beat downs from bosses.

Overall, your gameplay style would really be the biggest factor in regards to your appreciation for this title. If you are a glutton for punishment, when playing single player or do most of your gaming online with others, you will like Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. However, if you don’t like playing online or do not have a gold membership, then you may want to pass on this. While it may not be the title you were expecting, it does still offer a lot for the 1200 MS point pricetag, such as huge 2D side scrolling levels, looting, and support for future DLC of levels and characters.

Mashbuttons.com gives Castlevania: Harmony of Despair a 7 out of 10.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is available now for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories | Review

Synopsis: Konami recently sent us a review copy of their newest action adventure horror title, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. This is the first time the Silent Hill franchise has made an appearance on the Wii and the developers have successfully worked to increase the fear aspect of the franchise by using the Wii remote as a flashlight and cell phone to unlock key story elements. Shattered Memories follows the main character, Harry Mason, who is trying to solve the mystery of his missing daughter throughout the city of Silent Hill. Choices in which the player makes throughout the story shape how the character interacts with characters, objects, and places.

Praise: This title was put together very nicely and the soundtrack, psychological tests, messages, and the flashlight controls make it one of the scariest games I have played in a while. I must admit when I started the game and went through the psych test, I did not realize the input in which it had on what I would encounter, but after having to do multiple tests through the story, I put a lot more thought into my answers and would even go back to my previous save point to see what would change from answering differently. The graphics are crisp and dark, mixed with the soundtrack that gets more intense when you are about to encounter a voice mail and the dimming and flickering of my flashlight, actually had me holding my breath waiting for something to pop out, and that is what makes it as scary as it is. The story is great and I do not want to spoil anything but does move forward nicely making you want to keep playing and with the different outcomes on my interactions, had me immediately go back for more punishment.

Gripes: The title was rather short taking me about six to seven hours to complete. The controls also got incredibly frustrating at times when it came to trying to knock baddies off of me and maneuvering the flashlight and movement, controls were overly sensitive and headache inducing at times. Lastly, the camera is just plain bad, mainly when you are being chased and trying to run to the next highlighted ledge or door to get away, as the placement makes it very difficult to locate where it is you need to go.

Overall, even though the game was short, it was scary and had strong replay value. Despite the issues I had with the control and camera, the soundtrack adds to the fear element and the shock value when you encounter really intense story elements. Along with the intention to scare the player, this title has made me think about my actions more than anything I have played in a while.

Mashbuttons.com gives Silent Hill: Shattered Memories an 7 out of 10.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is available now for the Nintendo Wii.

Zombie Apocalypse | Review

Synopsis: Zombie Apocalypse is a new downloadable game from Konami, for the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, in which you play as one of four survivors with a large arsenal to survive 55 days of battles saving as many remaining survivors as you can. Up to four players can team up for mass zombie genocide using 11 available weapons and your trusty chainsaw when you really want to get your point across. This title is a top down arcade shooter adding some new features, such as seven 3D environments with hazards to help wipe out the opposition, fifty five days (missions) to play through, online coop with up to four other players locally or online, and five additional challenging game modes to keep things fresh and the player from thinking this concept has been done before.

Praise: The gameplay and style of this title are nothing new, in fact, some may say there have been too many zombie games released recently, however, the formula works very well for Zombie Apocalypse. The controls of the game are easy to learn as it uses the two stick scheme, where the left stick controls the character and the right stick aims where you shoot, trigger buttons use the chainsaw, and left and right buttons use your special attack (teddy bear bomb). The HD graphics are very crisp and very necessary, mainly when you get to the point where the number of zombies can take up most of the visual environment and the lighting does add a healthy amount of creepiness to the game. The online coop is where this game makes the player feel like they are in the arcade, as playing with four players can be a team effort or fending for yourself trying to get the highest score of the group.

Gripes: While a large number of levels are usually a good thing, especially with XBLA titles to help the customer feel like they are getting a lot for what they pay for, it can also be one of the main reasons that people lose interest. Since there are only 7 environments and 55 levels, you will not see much in the way of variety in the level, with the exception of the weapons received and enemies you encounter. There are additional game modes to go back and play through with, but grinding through the initial 55 levels seems like a chore after a while, especially if you don’t have multiple controllers or Xbox live to play coop.

Overall, this game is fun and is a welcome addition to my zombie game library. I will not directly compare this game to a recent four player coop survivor horror FPS or a classic top down violent game show arcade game, but it does feel like the two games with those elements bred and this is their love child. Even with the multitude of days (levels) to play through, the game is satisfying, more so on coop, and can get extremely hectic, leaving you clenching the life out of your controller.

Mashbuttons.com gives Zombie Apocalypse a 9 out of 10.

Zombie Apocalypse is available now for the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network.

Konami cans Fallujah!

Yesterday was a sad day for developer Atomic Games as Konami decided to cancel the title, Six Days in Fallujah.

Games have always been under scrutiny, especially when it comes to having a Mature rating, but is seems Fallujah war shooter has been cancelled due to public backlash in the form of email, phone call, and bad publicity.



Six Days in Fallujah has been in development since 2005, and with the amount of work already put in, lets hope Atomic Games does not throw in the towl so easily.

At this time they would like to complete the game, but there is still uncertainty to this game's fate.

Konami now joining zombie bandwagon

Mark your calendars because we are getting another zombie game! Konami Digital announced Zombie Apocalypse the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation 3 for the summer of 2009.

Zombie Apocalypse brings four players together to fight for their survival against, get this…zombies! Original? Not really, but who needs originality when zombies are entered into the equation? It really does look fun, in a top down Left 4 Dead sort of way.

Zombie genocide comes in the form of 11 weapons to be used to help survive 55 days through 7 different environments. Once the mission is completed, there is a replay value through 7 new unlockable game modes.

Is that a wood chipper in the picture above?!?!? Oh yes, there will be blood.