Atari's next Ghostbusters to be downloadable in 2011

Atari has provided our office with screens of Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, their downloadable title to be released on XBLA, PSN, and Windows PC this Spring. This top down action game will still have a number of weapons along with massive supernatural foes. Take a look and keep an eye out for more as we get closer to release and be sure to stock up on MS for the soon to be available XBLA titles to be released in the next month.

Hot Dogs and Vomit can only mean another trailer for Bulletstorm

We just received a new trailer for the next Epic Games title, Bulletstorm. For anyone that has heard about this title knows that Bulletstorm is just spewing with over the top kills, action, and gore. This trailer provides even more with what looks like action figures in a large diorama. Watch, enjoy, and pre order, you owe it to yourself.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective | Review

Synopsis: Capcom has surprised me with their DS title Ghost Trick Phantom Detective, brought to us by Shu Takumi, the original maker of the Ace Attourney titles. As a fan of Capcom titles, I have to admit that I have not been looking forward to this title as Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Okamiden were overshadowing this gem. In Ghost Trick, you assume the role of newly dead Sissel, looking into your reason for death, while altering others' fates along the way. This adventure puzzler is chock full of content, containing 15 stages, 25 areas, and one very short time limit to alter the fates of over 30 characters.

Praise: I must admit that I have not played any of the Ace Attorney titles, but after playing through the numerous puzzles, it looks like I will be picking them up before my weekend trip to Redding. I love a good puzzler, but one of my favorite puzzlers which immediately comes to mind is Puzzle Quest, mainly because it has a story and dialogue, and with Ghost Trick, the humorous dialogue almost overshadows the puzzles. That is not to say that the puzzles aren't fun, in fact the puzzles are a blast and unique, being interactive in a way I have yet to experience. The way in which the puzzles work, is by Sissel going back in time to four minutes before other characters' demise, locating items in which are interactive, before going into the real world and performing a "trick" to prevent death along with learning more about what happened in the few moments leading up to your murder, and the information acquired changes based on how situations play out.

Gripes: In regards to the downsides to this title, there wasn't much to complain about when it comes to the technical aspects behind this title. One thing in which I felt that took away from the gameplay was the lack of help when it came to trying to solve some of the later puzzles and while the game plays out regardless to your actions made, sometimes those aren't the actions in which you intended on. Also, the stages seemed pretty long, making it harder to pick up and play without having a full half hour to play through a stage, because the process consists of watching a character die, then solving a puzzle in both the ghost and real world, then performing tricks to alter fates, learn more about your demise and on to the next stage, so it is ill advised and hard to put down before completing stages.

Overall, Ghost Trick is definitely an experience for puzzle gamers, as its interactive puzzles are a blast to play and see how items act differently to try and see how fate plays out when you can manipulate the outcome. Whether you come for the puzzles and stay for the humor or vice versa, this title provides a good amount of content and with a great story and lots of replay value, it would be a hard title to pass up, and with it being on the Nintendo DS, you can take the phantom detective wherever you go, unfortunately poor Sissel spent most of his time either in the bathroom or in bed with me.

Mashbuttons.com gives Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective a 9 out of 10.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is available now for the Nintendo DS.

Lost in Shadow | Review

Synopsis: Hudson comes through with a review copy of Lost in Shadow to give my Wii some use over the holidays with something to play besides Donkey Kong Country Returns. Lost in Shadow is a unique action platformer exclusively for Wii where shadows are altered as your main source to manipulate levels to work your shadow boy up the tower and discover its secrets. You will not complete this journey alone as you are accompanied by a sylph that goes by “Spangle” to help manipulate light and shadows to ensure your way to the top. Lost in Shadow is a platformer with puzzles, action, RPG elements, and of course shadows. As some may know, I have been looking forward to the finished product after playing through the demo multiple times, so let’s see how the experience was.

Praise: The visual style behind Lost in Shadow is what makes this title really shine. The gameplay is rather basic but does not grow old and while it does have some RPG elements, the majority of the gameplay focus lies within attacking shadow creatures, manipulating light, and working your way up the tower. Getting used to focusing on the shadows throughout the castle takes some time, but once you get the hang of it, you are hooked! Along with the fun gameplay, there are a lot of puzzles to keep you thinking while not making the game overly difficult and keeping you on your way to the top. The title takes about 8 to 10 hours to complete and it goes by rather quickly collecting keys and unlocking paths to continue to the next floor. Though Lost in Shadow does use the remote and nunchuk, the controls work rather well as it does not rely on motion controls.

Gripes: While my experience was mostly favorable, there were some issues I had in the initial play through. The biggest was combat, as it is very simple, just hit the attack button when by the enemies, and the whole combat aspect of this game was sluggish for the most part. The other problem was that if you miss any keys to unlock your path to the next segment, then you will be backtracking to locate what you may have missed. While the graphics add a lot to the environment and gameplay, the story and sounds are shy of memorable, while the sounds of gears and industrial noises go with the moving behemoth of the castle, it did not make it feel any larger, in fact it kind of made the tower feel smaller.

Overall, Lost in Shadow was a blast to play and easy to go back to after the first play through, even though it does not provide much in the way of additional content, it is just a unique, good looking game, with a concept that borrows from multiple games like Ico and Limbo. I would say that if you’re not a fan of puzzles in your games, you may want to stay away. However, if platforming and puzzles is your cup of tea, then you will like playing through this title over and over again.

Mashbuttons.com gives Lost in Shadow an 8 out of 10.

Lost in Shadow is available now for the Nintendo Wii.