Guitar Hero...Arcade?

You would think that after a few years, most everyone would've gotten either Guitar Hero or Rock Band to play at home. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I found the arcade cabinet at my local movie theater arcade.

Upon further research, I found that the arcade version is based off a limited track list from Guitar Hero III. So, if you don't have any of the latest incarnations of these games and NO friends who own these games, I suppose 4 quarters per play is the best you can do in your local arcade.

Retro Game Challenge arrives

Having a spare gift card can sometimes be a burden, especially when there's no immediate purchases in mind. But while strolling in a Best Buy last week, I saw what I wanted, nay HAD to purchase - Retro Game Challenge for the DS.

I've played the import game in the past through certain means, but have always stalled on getting my own domestic copy. However, with all the recent reports of small sales not matching the humongous praise this game's been getting, I had to show my support and purchase the game.

If you're a retro gamer at heart, you really owe it to yourself to get this title. The nostalgia and simplicity of these fake retro games take me back to a more innocent time when graphics weren't all about realism, the only thing to achieve was high scores, and genres were in their early defining stages.

Sure, thanks to piracy, the game's getting all the attention and none of the sales...which is a terrible, terrible shame. I'd be a hypocrite if I said I've never dabbled in rom downloads myself. Despite that, I'm a firm believer of spending my money on quality products to show my support. You have to respect that, in the end, the game industry is still a business, and no amount of praise for a game is worth anything unless people actually go out and purchase the game as well. And as much as anyone would LOVE to bring over these quirky titles from the Land of the Rising Sun to the States, there are little people who would do it for next to nothing.

It is because of this that I've decided to make this game-purchase post a little different, a little more significant. To anyone who has already purchased the game, thank you for supporting XSEED and their quest to bringing obscure titles to the States.

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The Conduit has arrived!

Since my hands-on of the game at E3, I've been very enthusiastic about this game's release. Not since CounterStrike did I felt I actually had a competitive chance onlie as I did when I first played with this game's control scheme. I'm looking forward to getting more people excited about this game.

Did I forget to mention that there's Wii Speak compatibility? Oh yeah, finally another game other than Animal Crossing to talk smack!

Big Surf Island DLC purchased!

In what was probably one of the most anticipated DLC for Burnout, Big Surf Island and its new bag of achievements, trophies, and cars arrives for download! While the entire DLC includes an entirely new island to drive, crash, and fly around (you're gonna get TONS of air here), the real added bonus is the new cars, 4 of which are toy car versions of the legendary cars. The latter is an even more special treat for me, since the legendary cars pack was the only other DLC content I downloaded.

Zero Punctuation review(s): The E3 debacle

To some, E3 is the yearly event that showcases what companies have to offer for the coming year. To Yahtzee, it's a humongous shameless plug of empty promises and ultimate failures.

To others, E3 is at least 2 weeks worth of articles, reviews, first impressions, and hands-on experience on games that have yet to be released. To Yahtzee, they're 3-second nods-and-rants.

So here's Yahtzee's quick jabs and punches at the return of the PR nightmare, E3. Defintiely NSFW, definitely 100% fun.

The Tome of Lost Souls, obtained.

It's good to note that whenever you pre-order a game from GameStop for the extra pre-order goodies, it's best to pick it up ASAP. The whole "while supplies last" gets overlooked too often, causing unnecessary surprise when you realize too late that you're...well, late in picking up the goods. Such was the case when I picked up my copy of Knights in the Nightmare for DS, only to realize I never got my free artbook 2 days later.

In hopes that the artbook was innocently forgotten, I make my GameStop call, only to be reminded that it was "while supplies lasted." Well THAT sucks. (I found out later from an inside source that if the game's paid in full, employees are required to hold pre-order bonuses to your copy - which, unfortunately, wasn't the case for me) It's obvious to note that I picked up this game late (picked it up June 13th, when the game was released June 2nd), but I had my reasons; a family emergency, E3, being 400 miles away from the GameStop I reserved it at.

Turns out, I wasn't the only person boned at getting the free artbook. Seems that Atlus short-supplied artbooks throughout most GameStops, with some even getting too many. In any case, I figured that there may possibly be an untapped store in which the artbook was still available, left behind by another neglectful gamer. Ready to make my round of calls, fortune smiled on me quick when the first store I called up had one more left! After explaining my situation, the GS employee was happy to fulfill my pre-order just from showing my receipt. I still brought my game in for good measure, but soon I was finally bestowed my free artbook.

Mind you, it's free - that doesn't mean that it's in perfect condition. Never before did I remind myself so many times that something was free; the edges were tattered and torn (clearly from constant flipping-through), the spine bent (probably sat on), and the back cover is crinkled (holding the book limply with one hand). In the end, however, all 96 pages of illustrations are intact. Good, at least no one tried to wipe their ass with it.

So, here it is. The Tome of Lost Souls artbook. (Cue lone trumpet's struggling victory fanfare)

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Knights in the Nightmare arrives.

During my E3 attendance, Knights in the Nightmare was released. And it took me this long to finally pick up my reservation. Which shouldn't be any indication on what I think of the game. I mean, it's Atlus after all.

That, and the gameplay is strikingly unique and original. Combining a SHMUP and an RPG? Sign me up!

Getting a second Wii Motion Plus

With the Wii Motion Plus already out there as a pack-in for Tiger Woods 10 and as a stand alone device, I wonder how people will be making their purchases so as to obtain two devices for 2-player action? Most people will buy a game with the pack-in already there, but will you buy two different games with a pack-in? Or will you get one game and the other as a separate peripheral?

Personally, I'm starting to be more inclined towards getting Tiger Woods 10. The near-perfection swings are really enticing me towards a purchase, and would be a perfect compliment to the Wii Sports Resort game coming out in a month. I mean, you'll need two to play the dual swords and table tennis mini-games, both of which are top games in my book.

Are you guys interested in the Wii Motion Plus? And if you are, what will you guys do to get two of 'em?

Zero Punctuation double feature: an inFamous Bionic Commando

Due to last week's E3 outing, I missed out on Yahtzee's Bionic Commando review...so I've decided to roll that together with his review this week for inFamous.

I almost entirely expected Yahtzee to be talking about E3, however...I thought for sure he'd attend the event and give his two bits about the whole ordeal. Now THAT would've been entertaining.

But rest assured, the double-dosage of reviews here should suffice. Between the two games, I inclined to check out inFamous more, with the enticing freedom the open level brings coupled with the ability to electrocute people.

NSFW goodness below, enjoy!

Bionic Commando:


inFamous:

Some hard proof of that "Playing with Mario" story...

Sorry it took a while, but here's the photo that a Nintendo rep helped me take with Charles "It's-a-me, Mario" Martinet. And yes, that's a Mario shirt I'm wearing, albeit with an Atlus band-aid sticker over half of it. And yes, I'm very un-photogenic.

Upon closer inspection, you can tell I caught him in the middle of playing the New Super Mario Bros Wii game, with his Wii-mote strapped to his wrist.

Upon even closer inspection, you can see his clever E3 badge.

Even closer inspection reveals that it's actually a combination of two badges! You can tell the "E3" logo appears twice on the left side. Now THAT'S power!

Then, shortly after this, I got to play the game and two other Nintendo reps. What an awesome experience!

Post-E3: That cat from Monster Warrior

Because I don't know his name.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - hands on

Like the polar opposite of a magnet, we go from the disappointment of White Knight to the sudden excitement of the Dark Knight! (Eh? Eh? Didja see what I did there, with the "knight" thing? And the whte and black, and...um...k, moving on.)

Comic videogames are as volatile as videogame movies, and usually get overlooked by my gaming radar. So my lack of interest never waned, even with the promise of a huge limited-edition batarang. With low expectations, I began playing the demo. What I experienced blew me away.

It wasn't the murky graphics or the original story that I marvelled (er, "DC'ed." Pure gold.)...but the fighting that I enjoyed the most. Every punch and kick was seamlessly chained together so well, you can't even tell when one punch ends and the other begins.

Lemme give you a memorable example. I was punching one guy in the face, with two other enemies behind me. In a natural fluid motion, I perform a roll motion over the second guy, which transitioned immediately to a creasant kick to the third guy's face!

There are even movie style attacks, like Batman's no-looking-behind-backhanded-fist counterattack, or his cape-spreading aerial glide kick from above. They've even included his trademark grapple-from-above taketowns, which purposely position the camera to give you an optimal view of the enemy being wisked away into the unknown abyss above.

Add to this the random slow-motion of final blows, and you have the makings of almost cinema-like battle sequences sure to qwell the doubts any gamer has to this Batman game.

White Knight Chronicles - hands on

From a company that brought us Professor Layton and Rogue Galaxy, Level 5's upcoming PS3 game White Knight Chronicles was giving me high hopes. What I found was a disappointing game.

For the record, I just jumped into an abandoned station where I'm already wandering around the environment looking for enemies to fight...and I did. Slowly.

First off, you have all your attacks laid out before you in these little rectangular buttons, which you can select by pressing left and right on the d-pad. Once you select one, you can attack an enemy. I don't know if it was just me, but attacks felt like they had a 1-2 second delay before executing. To add to the waiting time, after every attack you must wait for the circular guage to refill again before issuing another delayed attack.

In any case, battles have now become more sluggish than it needs to be. I had to idle my time running around in place, just to wait until my meter's full before getting my attack in. While this might be fine for people that have the time, I certainly don't.

I'm sorry, Level 5, but if the gameplay doesn't capture my attention, then it's not meant to be.

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Post-E3: Destructoid robot spotted

Found Destructoid on the scene, right before dishing out a heaping serving of whoop-ass. That attendee didn't see it coming...

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Returned from E3, still tired and weary...

Hey guys, just want to let you know I still have a few more E3 posts to put up, but resting up big time in the meantime.

Ghostbusters - hands on

Who doesn't dream of using a proton pack to catch ghosts after watching Ghostbusters? Playing the game does just that, and more.

Handling the proton pack is as fun as it sounds. Not only do you get to shoot your own particle beam, but you can perform your own wanton destruction, and even make your own burn marks on the wall!

Taking down ghosts requires you to wear them out first before you're able to wrangle them in your beam. Once you do, it's a simple matter of wrestling with the ghost until it's over the trap to suck 'em in. And even that's not a guarantee - you need to keep them steady over the trap, or else they may wriggle free from the trap's beam, and you have to wrestle them back over it again.

While it' true that the "cast" is controlled by the computer, it never really feels artificial. In fact, you really feel like youakre working as a team. There would be times when there are three beams locked on one ghost, and it wasn't until I helped out that the ghost made it over the trap. Other times, they were okay fending for themselves while I was on my own.

The humor wasn't over the top funny, but was enough for the game itself to give me a chuckle every once in a while. The cutscenes weren't in the "uncanny valley," and sometimes were comparible to the movies.

Hey, to have a Ghostbusters game with all original cast members reviving their roles is good enough for any fan of the movies to purchase this game and play it at least once.

Wii Sports Resort - hands on

You can't avoid Wii Sports Resort when dealing with the Wii Motion Plus. And you just can't avoid the similarities between the free pack-in game and Resort. What you REALLY can't ignore, however, is the much improved controls thanks to the WM+.

I've tried two of the most popular games on the floor - Dueling Swords and Table Tennis - to get a feel for both accuracy and precision, and what I got was just that.

The sword wielding felt quite natural, feeling accurate in every hit I landed. In my best moment, I took 4 timely swings, quickly knocking my opponent in the water - a quick left, right, left, and right blow.

The table tennis game was where I really tested the WM+ limits. With some ping-pong experience under my belt, I mopped the floor with my opponent at 6-1. The amazing thing was that the sensor recognized every spin I applied to the ball, feeling absolutely precise and natural.

Color me impressed and sold.

Critter Crunch - hands on

I find myself getting more and more download-only games lately, so checking out the DLC section is a must. Critter Crunch caught my eye as a good potential puzzler. Gameplay follows a specific food chain that you need to feed the creatures, done with this weird little monster that flicks its tongue to grab and spit out the creatures.

If you're a fan of Magical Drop 3 or Money Exchange, this puzzler would be right up your alley.

God of War 3 - hands on

After an almost 2-hour wait (wtf), I finally got my 15 minutes with Sony's big game of the day, God of War 3. It's really just a God of War game on the PS3 with very crisp graphics!

The demo had me pulling a cyclop's eye out, disemboweling a minotaur, and shoving a beast's own horn into its own skull. There was even a close-up shot of Kratos forceably tugging someone's head off! Everything you like about God of War is here, and fans will get the full experience March 2010.

Where's Waldo?

Apparently wandering around at E3...