Duke Nukem Forever Preview

Last PAX - PAX Prime if you will - I posted about the imminent release of Duke Nukem Forever. You may not have believed then but surely you must believe it now - it comes out May 3rd... OF THIS YEAR! At PAX Prime everyone there had the opportunity to play the demo of Duke Nukem Forever and all attendees of PAX East 2011 had that same opportunity. At some point I made a joke to myself that my next post on this blog was going to be a post about playing Duke Nukem (because I obviously have not been concentrated on this blog at all) so here it is.

After waiting on line for almost two hours I finally wrapped my hand around the controller.


I selected the medium difficulty because I didn't want to appear to be a chicken to all of those watching me play. I inverted the Y-axis and began to play.

The demo starts where I imagine the beginning of the game is: with rock music and no explanation of what's going on. You run around a football stadium trying to kill a giant alien. The gun you pick up is a missile launcher of sorts (I don't remember the name) and you are given 69 rounds (giggle). It takes little effort to take down this big sonofabitch, ammo being dropped as needed, and eventually you kick a field goal with what looks like the aliens giant tonsil. The screen pulls back and you are Duke playing Duke. How meta.

If you do not already know the dialogue I'm not going to spoil it for you here but let's just say it is very... Duke.

The next part of the demo seems to fast forward in the game a little bit as you are now driving Duke's truck. The controls of that, to me, felt a little wonky but eventually (after two deaths by giant rock) I persevered. The truck runs out of gas you shoot a few pig cops and then are assaulted by a spaceship. Conveniently there is an RPG under the shelter that you take and after a few salvos of missiles the ship disintegrates. Not going to lie, it would have been cooler had it crashed into the ground.

I then took a trip into a cave that I didn't have time to figure out how to get out of. My demo time was up.

The demo seemed like an old build and was a tad bit laggy at times but I'll wait until the final product to reserve judgement.

It may sound like I didn't totally love it but I assure you I did. It was Duke Nukem - prettified. I think it will be worth the wait but I also think that I won't do anything new for shooters.

I also neglected to mention that my wife was standing next to me as I played and grimaced when I shrunk a pig cop and stepped on it. That made my day.

Duke Nukem Forever

If you are like me you could not count yourself lucky enough to attend PAX Prime this year. While PAX is not ordinarily known for its megaton news announcements, PAX attendees this year got one of the biggest megatons out there - Duke Nukem Forever still exists.

... and it was playable.

Feel like kickin' ass and chewin' gum? The fine folks at Gearbox are going to make that a possibility They've purchased the IP and it is coming in 2011. Who knows, we might even see a demo.

I grew up on Duke Nukem 3D but I never was that excited about the prospect of a new Duke game. Perhaps it was because in my gut I knew that it might never come out or perhaps it was because I had already seen what happens to sequels of games that I played when I was younger (Quake, Wolfenstein, DOOM). Return to Castle Wolfenstein may have been the exception but nothing from these series was ever stellar after their original incarnations.

Maybe even Duke Nukem Forever won't be that great but at the very least I know it will be great for some mindless fun. I am excited to play with the shrink gun again and put some remote laser mines all over the wall.

Come here piggy, I have the bottom of a boot I would like to show you.

DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue Trailer (Yes, A Sequel Already)

We can be excited for more DeathSpank or we can hang our heads because it looks like more of the same. I do not even believe that you can transfer over your character stats from the first game.

I'll play the demo... but that might be the only thing I do.

The Best of Gamescom 2010... thus far (Mass Effect 2, Ratchet and Clank, Disney Epic Mickey)

I'll start out with my favorite thing to come out of Gamescom so far, the Epic Mickey opening cinematic:



Amazing no? I feel like though I am eagerly anticipating this game it will still surprise me.

Alan Wake also had something to say at Gamescom or rather, Remedy had something to say about his episodic adventures. They said that releasing the game on Xbox Live episodically would be an 'interesting experiment' and that there technically was nothing preventing that from happening. We saw this with Fable II, a game not very episodic in nature; it would only make sense to see something like this down the road. The Writer - the second downloadable episode - was also said to have been close down the road. Hopefully it does not overlap with the release of Halo: Reach, or something silly like that.

The rest of the interesting news comes from the PS3 side of the tracks and the most interesting piece is that Mass Effect 2 is coming to the PS3. I am all for this announcement but I wonder, how many people will pick this game up a year after it was released on the Xbox? Will it have exclusive content? I'd pick it up again if that was the case.

There are also two new games coming from Insomniac - Ratchet and Clank, this time with 4-player coop and Resistance 3. Having not spent a lot of time with these franchises this news doesn't excite me like it does for some but I am still looking forward to both.

Then again we might be able to put a lot of stock into these NEW PSP Phone rumors and get excited about something else altogether.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game Review

In a world faced with realistic graphics and story-laden plots perhaps it is a bit refreshing to play something like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (whew), a game that debunks the idea that all movie games must suck - or does it - yes it does. Scott Pilgrim KO's the conception that licensed games must be lackluster; perhaps the downloadable route is something more developers should do.

The game keeps the story to the basic framework that the graphic novels set forth but provided that you have read the books you will be surprised what the developers at Ubisoft got right - and how much they managed to stuff in.

The Overworld

The gameplay is a old-school (punishingly so, at times) Streets of Rage, Double Dragon style game and you would be remiss to not feel some sense of nostalgia pulling at your heartstrings on your journey through the Toronto-styled overworld.

The sprites are wonderfully animated and I often found myself wondering if I would have really been about to see a game that looked this good in the early nineties (the style that they were going for). The "cutscenes" are cutesy pictures of the outcomes of each level and every time I watched one I could not help but smile or laugh depending on what I was looking at.

The soundtrack is perhaps the best part of the game - you know, other than having a game to play it to - provided by Anamanaguchi. Particular favorites were world 1's song and world 3's.

The game has 4-player couch co-op where you can play as a part of Sex Bob-Omb (as a taunt). You get a rating, comparatively to the people that you were playing with, at the end of each level. There is no online co-op and though I am sure that it was an issue of time, I see this game as more fun played on the couch with 3 other friends.

The only other qualm I had with the game is when the enemies get stuck on the sides of the screen - you can not see them and you can not progress - and you have to either restart the level or systematically punch and kick at the sides of the screen until you kill the seemingly invisible guy.

Scott Pilgrim: The Game had a lot to offer: two secret characters to unlock, paths on the overworld that do not unlock during the natural progression through the game, and easter eggs galore (personal favorite was the goku sprite).

If you are a fan of Scott Pilgrim you are a fan of this game. If you are a fan of old-school beat-em-ups you are a fan of this game. Get out there on the streets of Toronto and beat up some evil exes - or something.

4.5 out of 5
Review based on retail Playstation Network version provided by Ubisoft.

Limbo Review

Danger lurks everywhere.

In Limbo you may never truly know what is going on but regardless you will be on the edge of your seat until the very end. My heart was jumping out of my chest several times throughout the game.

Limbo tells the story of a boy who enters Limbo to see what has become of his sister. You would never know this because the game just begins - and for that matter ends - and plays through.

The only actions in the game are to move forward or back, jump, and interact with objects (usually by pushing or pulling them). Despite all of this the puzzles in the game get challenging (but not controller throwing) and often result in, "AHA," moments.

The best part of the game is that this game is timeless. It will look great in 10 or twenty years - in its beautifully rendered black and white, film grainy style.

On the opposite side of the coin the most disturbing thing about the game is all of the ways that you will be dismembered while trying to discover the right way through a puzzle. My heart would beat faster every time I slipped and feel of some spikes or stepped in a bear trap. I cringed.

I feel that even if you are a very careful player this game requires a lot of trial and error. For me it never became frustrating though I was a little annoyed with one puzzle that required very precise timing.

The length of the experience should not matter to anyone but look at five or so hours for your first playthrough. The game invites at least a second playthrough to discover all of the game's secrets and perhaps the achievement for finishing the game in one sitting dying five times or less.

At the end you leave feeling that Limbo is art. You are playing in a movable Edward Gorey book and might feel right at home in a Tim Burton Movie. Playdead hit the nail on the head (literally) with Limbo. This is an experience everyone needs to have.

10 out of 10

Limbo is XBLA exclusive, part of the Summer of Arcade promotion. It costs 1200 Microsoft Points and was paid for by the reviewer.

DeathSpank Review

DeathSpank is not like many other games. It has charm, wit, and a great ability to make you feel like a hero to the downtrodden. It unfortunately also has an ability to make you feel like one of the downtrodden that you are supposed to be downtroddening or something like that.

From the second you start playing it is easy to see where Ron Gilbert's (Monkey Island) influence takes root. The jokes are familiar yet fresh and there is even one in there about Monkey Island. To say that the game is aware of itself would be speaking lightly as you are constantly greeted by jokes about game mechanics and common RPG terms.

The game is an RPG, heart and soul, from the loot to the constant questing. The game is a real time RPG with solid mechanics, good inventory systems (an auto-grinder would have been nice), and a hefty amount of content. It also takes a teeny slice from the adventure game pie but that lies in a few puzzles and the dialogue options.

The dialogue remains fantastic throughout the game but toward the end of the experience it all begins to feel samey, boring, and washed out. Jokes at the end of game would have been funny at the beginning of your experience but when you are nearing the end of a ten hour experience you have - in so many ways - heard it all before.

The same thing happens with the gameplay. It is fun to begin but toward the end it feels like rinse and repeat. Despite the constant loot you will find that you stick with the same weapons throughout the game. You might switch to new weapons 4 or 5 times in the game throughout. The runestones change it up a bit (mostly just for the cool aesthetics) but they are by no means necessary so you might never use them at all. The game may also have plenty of loot but you will rarely find that you are ever maintaining your inventory (though toward the end of the game you will constantly be grinding things that you do not want in order to make room for the things you need).

Despite all of the caveats, I played through the game in two long gameplay sessions and watched time melt away after I did - short, simple and sweet - quest after quest. The game is built for short gameplay bursts and it may have done the game a greater service to play it like this because after the first long gameplay session I felt like I had no reason (other than to finish it off) to go back. The story is okay, and once you have heard some of the jokes none of the others will catch you off guard.

Something that did catch me off guard was that this was also the first game in a long series of games played through where I found the music boring and less inspired than the rest of what the game had to offer.

Everything about the DeathSpank experience (sounds like an exotic ride) screams - from the Enchanted Forest to the Demon Mines - of polish, careful thought and crafty design. I remember several times throughout my playthrough stopping to marvel at just how well everything worked though DeathSpank, the game, is much like Deathspank, the character; he means well but the outcome is not always what was intended. Buy this game if you are a fan of Monkey Island or Diablo as the hype has suggested (or for an easy 200 gamerscore) - the rest may be able to wait for DeathSpank 2.

3.5 out of 5

Review based on the retail XBLA code paid for by the reviewer.

Flailing about at Macy's with Kinect for Xbox 360

The Kinect Booth.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get some "hands-on" time with Kinect. I dragged my wife to Macy's with the intent to see what all the hype was about and I did just that.

The line was not that long but I felt like this was due to improper advertising (or I was just lucky). I felt like a television or newspaper advertisement could have helped more people get out to play with Kinect.

I got my shot after only waiting for about 15 minutes. The game was Kinect Adventures.

I stepped into Microsoft's version of a living room with a random teenager to race against and immediately started moving around to see how Kinect read my movements. It seemed stuttered and laggy but I was not going to pass judgment that quickly. The on screen prompts told us what to do as the event staff also reiterated those points. Did I mention that before I walked into that room, I had no intention of jumping around like a fool?

The race started and as I had already seen the video demo from E3 I was jumping and dodging and all around acting like the damn fool I swore up and down that I would not be. Before I knew it the race was over and I wanted more. I won (am I going to let some teenage snot beat me?) 120 points to 114.

Quite some time after my demo I was still reeling at how much I loved my experience. If I had not had to be somewhere I would have gotten back in line.

DeathSpank coming to PSN today and XBLA tomorrow!

Though I have previously shown no love or attention for DeathSpank, the game has still been on my mind.

It is a charming little game that has been equated to a cross between Diablo and Monkey Island (that is a sell day one (TODAY!) for most people) and it is only fitting seeing as Ron Gilbert - the co-creator of Monkey Island - is heading the project. If you could not decipher from what the game has been compared to, it is an action RPG.

There are a crazy amount of weapons in the game ranging from Physical to Weapons of Justice. There are also Elemental Weapons and Runestones. I have no idea what this means but have you not seen that trailer above this post, it literally says it all - and more.

It looks like a great buy and I will probably be playing the demo on PSN today and buying the game on XBLA tomorrow. You know, I have an achievement reputation to keep up.

Club Nintendo Platinum/ Gold Rewards Announced

Your hard work of registering your first party Nintendo games has paid off, the Club Nintendo rewards for this year have been announced:

The elite status (600 coins) reward is a statue that features all of your favorite Mario characters. It 3.9 inches in height and 4.6 inches in diameter. It comes in a decorative packaging.

The gold status (300 coins) is a Club Nintendo calendar for 2011. Big difference.

The new Club Nintendo year begins today so start registering those games and doing those surveys.

Hulu Plus coming to Xbox (2011) and PS3 very soon; Available on iPhone/iPad Now

The news was broke today that Hulu will be releasing their service to both Sony and Microsoft systems, with the emphasis on Sony receiving the service first. With the amount of video watched from various users on both systems through the Netflix and Sony video feeds, this will be a great addition to both platforms.

The feature will be available for $10 a month with ads to users. With the inception of the Hulu platform, the service will reach to areas of programming that Netflix cannot yet touch upon, being mostly the newest of network shows. With various programs affiliated with NBC, ABC, and FOX showcasing on the service, this product will be a thrilling help to those who want the newest and most interesting of programs, broadcasted in 720p.

It will be great to see the various reasons reflected as to why Sony is receiving the service first, and if after the inception of the $10 a month charge added to your already charged Live Accounts, and eventual Sony chargeable accounts, if we see more services charging an additional fee to use their services through the systems. Either way, this product will be one I will be very tempted to use this service when it does hit the Microsoft Xbox system in early 2011.

Playstation Firmware v3.40 Available Now; Playstation Plus Today

I do not get to play as often as I'd like.

I never knew the days of yore when the Playstation Firmware was updated on a, what seemed like, at least bi-weekly basis. Now it seems to happen on a bi-monthly basis and the update process is quicker - no one is complaining.

The main highlights of firmware 3.40 are Playstation Plus, a five-star rating system and a photo and video uploader (to Facebook and YouTube). Other features are a photo gallery where you can look at your Picasa and Facebook photo albums (again you can upload to both of these services as well) and a new power save functionality that sets your consoles default inactivity shut-down at 2 hours.

So yeah, nothing that exciting but coming along with this update is a more robust Playstation Facebook app. It allows you to add friends to your friends list that are on Facebook and vice versa. One step closer to social networking domination.

Crackdown 2 Demo Impressions

Based on the demo alone Crackdown 2 feels a lot like the first iteration - that is, it feels right. It feels good to be cleaning up the streets of Pacific City once again but for some reason, mutants now come out at night. I imagine that the final game will lend us an answer to these mutants but damn if there aren't a lot of them.

The game is almost identical to the first game. The looks are mostly the same and the same thing can be said for the controls. I know that based on these two things alone, I am ready to jump back in.

My first three times through the demo I earned none of the achievements that the game had to offer and I also did not complete the last part of the mission on any of my playthroughs. I might knock the difficulty down to easy just to see what is after the end of the mission. Some of the achievements that they give you to work on seem impossible in the realm of the demo but I am certain that there are those out there who had no problem doing it.

It seems to be the the Cell are the new daytime baddies and the mutants whom only come out at night are better fought with better caliber weapons (or fists).

The bottom line is that if you liked Crackdown you'll love Crackdown 2.

New GoldenEye Revealed; Slated for release this fall

The original Goldeneye was another game that despite not having a Nintendo 64 I was always playing. I never had the opportunity to touch the single player aspect of the initial game and was not half bad at the multiplayer.

I do not know that I am looking forward to the game but I am sure that as long as they include some nostalgia for old fans and do not mess up the old formula this game is likely to be a huge hit.

Instead of Pierce Brosnan as Bond, Daniel Craig will lend his likeness as he is the current Bond.

It comes out this holiday season exclusive to the Wii.

Kirby's Epic Yarn for Wii Revealed; Coming This Fall

Kirby has not seen a major console release since the year 2000 with Kirby 64. Fast-forward ten years and we will be seeing Kirby's Epic Yarn on the Wii this fall.

The game looks fantastically charming and it reminds me a lot of Super Paper Mario in not only aesthetics but in style as well.

Put quite simply Kirby's shape is made of yarn and Kirby can unravel enemies (as they are also made of yarn (and it has me wondering about the backstory)) become a blimp, a tank, etc.

I love Kirby and have not spent any time with him recently so colored yarn me interested.

Playstation Plus coming June 29th

You can stop holding your breath the Playstation Network still holds its roots in the free realm. Playstation Plus is like something that you can stack on top of the Playstation Network to make it the service that it was always meant to be. Again, this is not saying that your PSN experience will not be everything it once was, this is saying that those willing to pay will be greatly rewarded.

With a pay service comes a hefty amount of exclusive offers and features. Here is what Playstation Plus has to offer:

• discounts on randomly selected DLC (much like Microsoft's Deal of the Week)
• free DLC (that cost's money for non-subscribers)
• exclusive early access to demos and betas
• the digital Qore magazine - free
• free full game trials for any game up to one hour before you have to make a purchasing decision
• auto downloading (which downloads patches, select demos and game videos, etc. all without ever having to think about it

To me it seems as though Playstation's service is worth the asking price because it brings a lot of the oft requested features (that Xbox already has). Perhaps cross game invites and party chat will become Playstation Plus features, should they ever come down the pipe.

Playstation Plus is 50 dollars a year and if you purchase a subscription at the outset you get 15 months for the same price. Seperate three month packs are available for 18 dollars.

Portal studio is still alive in 2011

The work of Gabe Newell is precise, well thought out, and yet always somewhat of a surprise. From the creation of two multiplayer giants in the Left 4 Dead series, and the inception of Gordon Freeman into almost every videogame player's vernacular, we have the little video game engine that could in Portal. In a game that was undershadowed originally in the Half-Life 2/Team Fortress/Portal boxset of games, the crew at Valve will be bringing back the Companion Cube and GLaDOS back for more puzzles and mind numbing fun as you attempt to help navigate through another assuredly short and sweet game from the Valve team.

What gives fans such a huge attachment to Portal was the futuristic and yet heartfelt attachment to various characters, and Chelle and GLaDOS will both be back for a featured game that will be showcased on PC,Xbox 360, and PS3. The game will launch at some point in 2011, and should help to bring puzzle gaming back to a heightened level of enjoyment. Although no gameplay was shown for the Portal 2 story, we do know the game will take itself on as a story hundreds of years after the original.

Metroid: The Other M premiere at E3

After three years of no sunlight for the Metroid series, and on a day when various games like Kid Icarus and Donkey Kong found their way back into our minds, Samus and her untitled ship will travel back into our hearts. The Other M, showcased with great graphics and a knack for edge of your seat Sci-Fi battles, will be launched into our hands on August 31st of this year.

What once again will amaze all of those in love with the Metroid style of gaming is how Nintendo continues to impress with the fresh and crisp graphical style that they continue to employ, working well with the systems graphical restrictions. The gameplay trailer even consists of some points of sidescrolling gaming that almost look as of those from the original Nintendo console.

The Space Pirates will continue to create a dutiful mission for Samus, as those who have been firmly linked to the game, such as Producer Yoshio Sakamoto have stated that although the game has been taking longer than originally expected to come out, that the crowd will be very pleased in what he been formed. From the trailer that was shown at E3 earlier today, it is going to be hard to deny that statement.

Zelda Skyward Sword Revealed; Coming in 2011

Miyamoto says that this game will be the turning point in Zelda's history and though I don't know about that, what he had to show was definitely attention grabbing.

You use the Wiimote as your sword and the nun-chuck as your shield. You hold the sword straight up to charge and slash to fire sword beams. Miyamoto wanted to make the game as simple and natural as possible.

To aim your slingshot and bow you just move the Wiimote around - no need to point it at the screen. To fire the bow you just pull back the nun-chuck and release to fire.

You can throw and roll bombs with the Wiimote with a overhand swipe and and underhand roll respectively.

There is more expansive scenery and it looks great.

The new beetle flies around using your remote to guide it. It picks up items and can also be used to place bombs where Link can't get.

The last new item is the whip and can be used to cut grass and grab items with the flick of your wrist. It always works exceptionally well at taking out a lot of bats at once.

It looks fantastic but we have to wait until 2011 to see just how good it will be.

Update: Trailer!

Nintendo 3DS Revealed Along with Kid Icarus Uprising (IN 3D!)

The top screen is a 3.5 inch widescreen display and the bottom screen is the standard touch-screen. The hardware is better: there is a new slide pad (similar to a joystick) as well as a motion and gyro sensor.

There will be 3D movies and though no specific on those were given Nintendo stated that they would be showing trailers (in 3D) on the show floor.

It also comes with a camera that can take 3D pictures. Now that is special.

But like they said, "What you care about is the games," and what they had to show was a trailer for Kid Icarus Uprising. My prowess does not include the wonders of Kid Icarus but I know that this excites me.