Summer has since passed, but Microsoft has hit record monthly revenues on its Xbox Live service. The console maker's Summer of Arcade promotion had great results for the company in 2008, and this year's summer lineup caused revenues to spike a whopping 200%. Given the overall quality of the games in tandem with the usual dry summer in terms of a release calendar, Microsoft picked a good time to release some really impressive titles. Below are the all-stars of this year's Summer of Arcade.
'Splosion Man: Seriously, with a title like this, how can you go wrong? This is a 2D side scroller with 50 levels and four player co-op, the objective being to literally 'splode (essentially a jumping explosion) through levels and puzzles. There are hidden collectibles in levels, too.
Shadow Complex: Developed by Epic Games and drawing heavy influence from the Metroidvania style of gameplay, Shadow Complex stands out as the best even among these titles. Superbly developed 2.5D gameplay, plenty of replay value, and great visuals make this a must have for anyone with Xbox Live.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes: While technically not an Xbox 360 exclusive, this is as fun as classic fighting games gets. MvC2 features huge rosters, epic special attacks, and widesreen format. There's also the option to have sprites displayed in different ways (Classic, Crisp, or Smooth).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled: Side scrolling beat 'em up at its absolute finest. There may not be anything particularly new, but this SNES classic deserves to be introduced to younger gamers (speaking as someone who played it on those old arcade doohickeys).
Trials HD: This aptly named motorcycle game is simple but addictive and fun. The idea is to guide a motorcycle using a unique control scheme through obstacles as fast as you can.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Nintendo: Now you're playing with drug busts
Whether or not this is real is a matter for debate, but in March, Florida police raided the home of a 43 year old man. The subsequent search turned up weapons, stolen property, drugs, and a Wii in the man's home. A security camera reportedly caught detectives relaxing after their successful search by indulging in Wii Sports.
The raid involved 16 detectives pulled from multiple police departments and cost taxpayers $4,000. An internal investigation has been launched, and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he would wait until deciding on disciplinary measures.
Real? Maybe. The video quality is sketchy, at best. It's just a shame the two guys from the famous "Wii Would Like to Play" commercials didn't show up.
The raid involved 16 detectives pulled from multiple police departments and cost taxpayers $4,000. An internal investigation has been launched, and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he would wait until deciding on disciplinary measures.
Real? Maybe. The video quality is sketchy, at best. It's just a shame the two guys from the famous "Wii Would Like to Play" commercials didn't show up.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sonic returns to his 2D roots
Ultimately, Sonic's long career as a video game mascot has proven beyond a doubt that the blue hedgehog is best attuned to a 2D world. Sonic Unleashed was a step in the right direction, but those weird Werehog segments suggested otherwise. Now, Sega has announced a new 2D Sonic game being built from the ground up to be released in 2010.
The new title, codenamed Project Needle mouse, was described by Sega associate brand manager Ken Balough to be response to old school Sonic fans. The trailer speaks true to this statement, featuring some classic Sonic sound effects and even the old "Sega" chorus Genesis fans will fondly remember. Balough also confirmed that the game will feature HD graphics.
So a return to Sonic's roots but still giving us the essential modern improvements? We've got a keeper here, Sonic fans!
The new title, codenamed Project Needle mouse, was described by Sega associate brand manager Ken Balough to be response to old school Sonic fans. The trailer speaks true to this statement, featuring some classic Sonic sound effects and even the old "Sega" chorus Genesis fans will fondly remember. Balough also confirmed that the game will feature HD graphics.
So a return to Sonic's roots but still giving us the essential modern improvements? We've got a keeper here, Sonic fans!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Review - Wolfenstein
Developer: Raven Software, id Software, Pi Studios, Endrant Studios
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Genre: First person shooter
Console(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
The good: Exciting gunfire combat, awesome guns, The Veil is fun to use
The bad: Good ideas with little execution, annoying glitches, mediocre writing
The memorable: Two words: Particle Cannon
The verdict: You'll like it while you play it, but it won't leave a lasting impression on you. Definitely a satisfactory game, but its own limitations stops it short of greatness.
World War II has seen more than its fair share of first person shooter games. Whether you’re charging up the beaches at D-Day or liberating Berlin, the Nazis have been on the receiving end of countless billions of virtual bullets. The first two Wolfenstein games helped shape the genre during their respective generations, and now the third game, simply titled Wolfenstein, has hit shelves. After eight years, what’s changed in the world of Wolfenstein? Well, the gameplay is entertaining and the game feels ambitious, but Wolfenstein can’t quite extricate itself from somewhat archaic designs and some glitches that feel more fitting for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. This shouldn’t mar your enjoyment of the game unless you’re extremely picky, but the game could have been exceptional with some more shine.
A return to WWII Europe.
The plot’s a little hard to judge since it continues the tradition of blandness held up by its predecessors, but on the other hand it seems to have fun with this. In the year 1943 in the town of Isenstadt, special agent B.J. Blazkowicz’s particular talent for killing Nazis is needed to thwart the plans of the SS to obtain the Black Sun, a powerful occult relic that they plan to use to take over the world. The narrative is handled with the same lightheartedness of a B-movie and almost reminds me of The Mummy with the setting of Hellboy, featuring a lot of creepy environments and Nazi banners. The lighthearted setting is cause for many of the appreciatively colorful environments – even in the dark – but the lackluster voice acting and dull script give the impression that the designers took it a little too easy with the story.
You can’t go wrong with a particle cannon.
Gameplay has a refreshingly old school feel to it, and seems to pay homage to days where cover and covert operations were unexplored grounds. The game is run-and-gun to the core, and most of your time will be spent strafing, absorbing bullets, mowing down SS grunts, and circle strafing stronger enemies. This might sound repetitive at first glance but the combat is made fun by the weapons. Half of your weapons are fairly typical WW2 era fare, but they’re entertaining to use thanks to some impeccable sound effects. The other half of your arsenal consists of more exotic weapons such as the flamethrower, tesla gun, and – my personal favorite – the particle cannon. These weapons are a blast to use, but contrary to what descriptions may imply they’re not overpowered.
You connection with the occult elements of this shooter is a parallel dimension called The Veil, which you can enter and exit at will. Entering The Veil gives the game a surreal greenish hue and gives you several perks. Enemies become bright green silhouettes making them easier to target, and you also have new powers in The Veil. You can give your bullets additional damage, project a shield to defend yourself, and even slow down time. While a secondary dimension isn’t going to score points for originality, The Veil is utilized extremely well, and different Veil powers come in handy in different situations. You’ll be using most of them throughout the game rather than one stage where you must incorporate a specific Veil power before it becomes useless.
The Veil is also used to give the game an element of exploration, since using it will reveal hidden doorways, ladders, and additional paths. This compels you to do more poking around the levels for the hidden caches of Nazi gold and secret collectible items. None of this is mandatory, so it’s nice to have the freedom to either plow through levels or
Low budget soldiers for hire.
Wolfenstein starts to stagger when you start noticing small glitches and problems that compound each other. Old school style shooters are fine, but old school technical bugs and problems should have been checked at the door. The first issue is the enemy intelligence, which gives the impression that these Nazis were trained at the same school as the Far Cry enemies. Soldiers ten feet away may not notice when a buddy gets disintegrated while certain Nazis won’t even be phased by the noise of an explosion or machinegun rounds. Beyond the AI the framerate takes a tip whenever you activate your Veil power, and sometimes objects prevent doors from opening. These don’t cripple the game but the production levels in Wolfenstein suggest that they could have been ironed out with some more fine tuning.
The other problem is that the Wolfenstein developers had some really great ideas, but couldn’t quite follow through on them. Wolfenstein isn’t a purely linear shooter – you actually have a hub world in Isenstadt where you can roam the streets, take paths to missions, and even purchase gun and Veil upgrades. This was a great idea, but a number of limitations complicate it. Isenstadt is relatively small, and being able to reach most of your missions from this small town makes the game world feel somewhat limited. Enemies are also present in town and they respawn, which can be annoying and a waste of ammunition when you just need to get somewhere. Another example of mismanaging potential comes from the fact that the relics used to recharge Veil powers are scattered a little generously throughout the world, but the developers were way too stingy with gold needed to purchase upgrades.
Killing Nazis in style.
There are times when Wolfenstein does exploit innovative sparks, and coupled with the game’s exciting action, this is where the game really shines. Similarly to the little problems compounding, the good aspects of the game build on top of each other to create some really memorable moments. The Veil and the gunfights are augmented by some really impressive gameplay elements, like the periodic zero gravity mechanic. The boss fights are also epic for a first person shooter. It’s difficult to say too much for the sake of spoilers, but boss fights are genuinely challenging, exciting, and really creative in design. If you can overlook the AI and the stale script, the gameplay is fast paced and entertaining, keeping consistent with the B-movie setting the game seems to embrace.
The overall single player experience isn’t stellar, but it’s definitely solid. Even though you may occasionally wish for the creative ideas to take effect, you’ll probably be too happy rampaging around Nazi bases and using the Veil to sneak through unseen doorways to worry about it. Enemies and settings are creative and diverse, although the difficulty runs the gauntlet from the easy cannon fodder to some unfairly cheap one-shot-kill enemies. You’ll still be able to use your Veil powers to compensate for these, but it’s difficult to tell when you’ll need to have it on. Such is the single player gameplay in Wolfenstein – little issues keep it from being great, but it’s still enjoyable for eight hours.
Unveiling multiplayer.
The multiplayer mode is something you’ll probably spend a lot of time in if you enjoy the Veil and the overall theme and environments of Wolfenstein. Again, it’s solid but doesn’t bring anything particularly innovative to the table. You get to choose one of three classes: Soldier, Engineer, and Medic. All three classes have different strengths and each has a unique Veil power that can be used in games. Team Deathmatch is a typical race to get more kills for your team, Objective has one attacking team trying to complete objectives while the other team defends against the attackers, and Stop Watch sees which attacking team can complete objectives fastest. There’s nothing particularly complex, but the combat oriented gameplay does make it a lot of fun, and the experience was lag-free.
Conclusion.
Wolfenstein has a charming old school shooter feel to it. It’s definitely a good game; the combat and Veil stand out as being memorable, but it feels like the developers stopped short of polishing the game and using their ideas to their full potential. As it stands Wolfenstein is a noteworthy title, especially for fans of the series. If you’re particularly into fast paced gunfights any potential problems will be pushed aside as you enjoy this Nazi-slaying adventure.
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Genre: First person shooter
Console(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
The good: Exciting gunfire combat, awesome guns, The Veil is fun to use
The bad: Good ideas with little execution, annoying glitches, mediocre writing
The memorable: Two words: Particle Cannon
The verdict: You'll like it while you play it, but it won't leave a lasting impression on you. Definitely a satisfactory game, but its own limitations stops it short of greatness.
World War II has seen more than its fair share of first person shooter games. Whether you’re charging up the beaches at D-Day or liberating Berlin, the Nazis have been on the receiving end of countless billions of virtual bullets. The first two Wolfenstein games helped shape the genre during their respective generations, and now the third game, simply titled Wolfenstein, has hit shelves. After eight years, what’s changed in the world of Wolfenstein? Well, the gameplay is entertaining and the game feels ambitious, but Wolfenstein can’t quite extricate itself from somewhat archaic designs and some glitches that feel more fitting for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. This shouldn’t mar your enjoyment of the game unless you’re extremely picky, but the game could have been exceptional with some more shine.
A return to WWII Europe.
The plot’s a little hard to judge since it continues the tradition of blandness held up by its predecessors, but on the other hand it seems to have fun with this. In the year 1943 in the town of Isenstadt, special agent B.J. Blazkowicz’s particular talent for killing Nazis is needed to thwart the plans of the SS to obtain the Black Sun, a powerful occult relic that they plan to use to take over the world. The narrative is handled with the same lightheartedness of a B-movie and almost reminds me of The Mummy with the setting of Hellboy, featuring a lot of creepy environments and Nazi banners. The lighthearted setting is cause for many of the appreciatively colorful environments – even in the dark – but the lackluster voice acting and dull script give the impression that the designers took it a little too easy with the story.
You can’t go wrong with a particle cannon.
Gameplay has a refreshingly old school feel to it, and seems to pay homage to days where cover and covert operations were unexplored grounds. The game is run-and-gun to the core, and most of your time will be spent strafing, absorbing bullets, mowing down SS grunts, and circle strafing stronger enemies. This might sound repetitive at first glance but the combat is made fun by the weapons. Half of your weapons are fairly typical WW2 era fare, but they’re entertaining to use thanks to some impeccable sound effects. The other half of your arsenal consists of more exotic weapons such as the flamethrower, tesla gun, and – my personal favorite – the particle cannon. These weapons are a blast to use, but contrary to what descriptions may imply they’re not overpowered.
You connection with the occult elements of this shooter is a parallel dimension called The Veil, which you can enter and exit at will. Entering The Veil gives the game a surreal greenish hue and gives you several perks. Enemies become bright green silhouettes making them easier to target, and you also have new powers in The Veil. You can give your bullets additional damage, project a shield to defend yourself, and even slow down time. While a secondary dimension isn’t going to score points for originality, The Veil is utilized extremely well, and different Veil powers come in handy in different situations. You’ll be using most of them throughout the game rather than one stage where you must incorporate a specific Veil power before it becomes useless.
The Veil is also used to give the game an element of exploration, since using it will reveal hidden doorways, ladders, and additional paths. This compels you to do more poking around the levels for the hidden caches of Nazi gold and secret collectible items. None of this is mandatory, so it’s nice to have the freedom to either plow through levels or
Low budget soldiers for hire.
Wolfenstein starts to stagger when you start noticing small glitches and problems that compound each other. Old school style shooters are fine, but old school technical bugs and problems should have been checked at the door. The first issue is the enemy intelligence, which gives the impression that these Nazis were trained at the same school as the Far Cry enemies. Soldiers ten feet away may not notice when a buddy gets disintegrated while certain Nazis won’t even be phased by the noise of an explosion or machinegun rounds. Beyond the AI the framerate takes a tip whenever you activate your Veil power, and sometimes objects prevent doors from opening. These don’t cripple the game but the production levels in Wolfenstein suggest that they could have been ironed out with some more fine tuning.
The other problem is that the Wolfenstein developers had some really great ideas, but couldn’t quite follow through on them. Wolfenstein isn’t a purely linear shooter – you actually have a hub world in Isenstadt where you can roam the streets, take paths to missions, and even purchase gun and Veil upgrades. This was a great idea, but a number of limitations complicate it. Isenstadt is relatively small, and being able to reach most of your missions from this small town makes the game world feel somewhat limited. Enemies are also present in town and they respawn, which can be annoying and a waste of ammunition when you just need to get somewhere. Another example of mismanaging potential comes from the fact that the relics used to recharge Veil powers are scattered a little generously throughout the world, but the developers were way too stingy with gold needed to purchase upgrades.
Killing Nazis in style.
There are times when Wolfenstein does exploit innovative sparks, and coupled with the game’s exciting action, this is where the game really shines. Similarly to the little problems compounding, the good aspects of the game build on top of each other to create some really memorable moments. The Veil and the gunfights are augmented by some really impressive gameplay elements, like the periodic zero gravity mechanic. The boss fights are also epic for a first person shooter. It’s difficult to say too much for the sake of spoilers, but boss fights are genuinely challenging, exciting, and really creative in design. If you can overlook the AI and the stale script, the gameplay is fast paced and entertaining, keeping consistent with the B-movie setting the game seems to embrace.
The overall single player experience isn’t stellar, but it’s definitely solid. Even though you may occasionally wish for the creative ideas to take effect, you’ll probably be too happy rampaging around Nazi bases and using the Veil to sneak through unseen doorways to worry about it. Enemies and settings are creative and diverse, although the difficulty runs the gauntlet from the easy cannon fodder to some unfairly cheap one-shot-kill enemies. You’ll still be able to use your Veil powers to compensate for these, but it’s difficult to tell when you’ll need to have it on. Such is the single player gameplay in Wolfenstein – little issues keep it from being great, but it’s still enjoyable for eight hours.
Unveiling multiplayer.
The multiplayer mode is something you’ll probably spend a lot of time in if you enjoy the Veil and the overall theme and environments of Wolfenstein. Again, it’s solid but doesn’t bring anything particularly innovative to the table. You get to choose one of three classes: Soldier, Engineer, and Medic. All three classes have different strengths and each has a unique Veil power that can be used in games. Team Deathmatch is a typical race to get more kills for your team, Objective has one attacking team trying to complete objectives while the other team defends against the attackers, and Stop Watch sees which attacking team can complete objectives fastest. There’s nothing particularly complex, but the combat oriented gameplay does make it a lot of fun, and the experience was lag-free.
Conclusion.
Wolfenstein has a charming old school shooter feel to it. It’s definitely a good game; the combat and Veil stand out as being memorable, but it feels like the developers stopped short of polishing the game and using their ideas to their full potential. As it stands Wolfenstein is a noteworthy title, especially for fans of the series. If you’re particularly into fast paced gunfights any potential problems will be pushed aside as you enjoy this Nazi-slaying adventure.
Review - Space Bust-A-Move
Developer: Lancarse, Taito
Publisher: Taito
Genre: Puzzle
Console(s): Nintendo DS
The good: Charming visuals and overall aesthetic, great casual title, lots of gameplay modes and unlockables
The bad: Controls are a little finicky, some online slowdown
The memorable: Any time you knock away a large number of orbs of the same color. It’s as gratifying as it was years ago.
The verdict: If a portable puzzle game is what you're looking for, it doesn't get much better than Space Bust-A-Move.
This should be a pleasant trip down memory lane for a lot of older gamers. Taito’s cute, colorful puzzle game based around firing colored orbs to destroy similar orbs as they slowly come down from a ceiling has always been easy to get attached to. Bub and Bob, the diminutive mascots for the series, have traversed consoles ranging from the Sega Saturn to the Gameboy Color. This isn’t the first incarnation of Bust-A-Move to be on the DS, but it’s definitely a solid title. Not much has changed, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with a fun and casual pick-up-and-play title. Space Bust-A-Move fills that niche well.
Bub and Bob go orb busting.
The core gameplay is identical to previous entries in the series. You launch colored orbs from a contraption operated by your little heroes at the bottom of the touch screen, and a usually elaborate set of orbs at the top of the screen gradually comes down inch by inch. Your objective is to clear out all of the orbs by matching ones you shoot with orbs of the same color on the ceiling. For instance, if you shoot a yellow orb at two yellow orbs and hit them, they’ll disappear (you need at least three for this to work).
Stages vary in complexity from simple rainbows to elaborate mazelike mosaics filled with spheres that cannot be destroyed. Harder stages often require you to be extremely careful with your shots, and one misstep could set you back considerably. Never count yourself out though; the charm of the series comes from the knowledge that if you get the right color orb, you could easily be able to clear the stage when you’re on the brink of losing. You also have the assistance of several handy special orbs including orbs, such as orbs that act like bombs and destroy all spheres in a small area of effect or an orb that clears an entire horizontal line. There’s enough variation in the stages and enough power ups to make stages feel unique and different, so that every new stage feels like a genuine new challenge.
Many modes to master.
The game’s interface and overall control scheme deserve credit. Taito made the tactfully sound decision to not try and shoehorn DS technology into the game, which results in a more authentic and less forced game. The game is confined to the bottom screen, which eliminates potential for an annoying blind spot if the game were to use both screens simultaneously. The D-pad is also used to move your shooter left and right, which feels much more natural than controlling it with the stylus. There are occasional times when the D-pad does feel inadequate to quickly move from left to right, especially when you have a crucial few seconds to destroy a few blocks before you lose. These are often rare and the D-pad works fine, though.
As far as a simple puzzle game goes, Taito did a great job in offering a solid amount of content. The first option on single player is a story mode which basically lumps different worlds into five stages at a time with a few screenshots to convey the standard story. What does make the story unique is that there are collectable items obtained in certain stages by causing them to drop by, say, shooting the blocks above them (rather than making them explode by shooting them directly). There are also boss fights which usually put a neat spin on the basic concept. Versus Mode in single player pits you against a CPU opponent on easy, medium, or hard difficulty to see who can survive the longest. This mode also features items you can get by destroying marked spheres that can help you or hinder your opponent.
It doesn’t end there, either. Endless Mode lets you see how high you can get your score on an (fittingly) endless game, while Challenge Mode tests how many points you can make in three or five minutes. If that wasn’t enough, you can shop for three more modes. The basic gameplay is nearly identical in these modes, but it’s rewarding to see developers include so many different modes for a simplistic puzzle game. The aforementioned shop can be browsed when you earn points, which can be used to purchase the modes and some cute gameplay alterations, like changing the colored orbs so that they resemble different planets. It’s a good incentive to give players rewards for their efforts.
If this review doesn’t seem too critical, there’s really nothing inherently wrong with Space Bust-A-Move. The game has no pretentions about being anything other than a cute, endearing puzzle game that’s great to play in small bursts or for up to an hour. Given how some puzzle games seem cynically slapped together and rushed out the door, Space Bust-A-Move actually ranks high up on the casual puzzle game spectrum. Single player alone has enough modes to keep any player busy for at least several hours, which is impressive for a concept this simple.
Multiplayer is also present with both local play and Nintendo Wi-Fi. You can get four players involved in a game with only a single copy of Space Bust-A-Move, or you can connect wirelessly. Both multiplayer modes work fine, although there are moments of sporadic lag in online play. It’s not so bad that it cripples the game, but it can throw your aim off and slow down the game periodically.
Closing thoughts
Space Bust-A-Move is an ideal title for someone who has a few minutes to kill. Whether you want to clear a world in Story Mode or you just want to play a quick Versus game, this is exactly how a casual puzzle game should work. It's nostalgic, creative, and has an impressive amont of content.
Publisher: Taito
Genre: Puzzle
Console(s): Nintendo DS
The good: Charming visuals and overall aesthetic, great casual title, lots of gameplay modes and unlockables
The bad: Controls are a little finicky, some online slowdown
The memorable: Any time you knock away a large number of orbs of the same color. It’s as gratifying as it was years ago.
The verdict: If a portable puzzle game is what you're looking for, it doesn't get much better than Space Bust-A-Move.
This should be a pleasant trip down memory lane for a lot of older gamers. Taito’s cute, colorful puzzle game based around firing colored orbs to destroy similar orbs as they slowly come down from a ceiling has always been easy to get attached to. Bub and Bob, the diminutive mascots for the series, have traversed consoles ranging from the Sega Saturn to the Gameboy Color. This isn’t the first incarnation of Bust-A-Move to be on the DS, but it’s definitely a solid title. Not much has changed, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with a fun and casual pick-up-and-play title. Space Bust-A-Move fills that niche well.
Bub and Bob go orb busting.
The core gameplay is identical to previous entries in the series. You launch colored orbs from a contraption operated by your little heroes at the bottom of the touch screen, and a usually elaborate set of orbs at the top of the screen gradually comes down inch by inch. Your objective is to clear out all of the orbs by matching ones you shoot with orbs of the same color on the ceiling. For instance, if you shoot a yellow orb at two yellow orbs and hit them, they’ll disappear (you need at least three for this to work).
Stages vary in complexity from simple rainbows to elaborate mazelike mosaics filled with spheres that cannot be destroyed. Harder stages often require you to be extremely careful with your shots, and one misstep could set you back considerably. Never count yourself out though; the charm of the series comes from the knowledge that if you get the right color orb, you could easily be able to clear the stage when you’re on the brink of losing. You also have the assistance of several handy special orbs including orbs, such as orbs that act like bombs and destroy all spheres in a small area of effect or an orb that clears an entire horizontal line. There’s enough variation in the stages and enough power ups to make stages feel unique and different, so that every new stage feels like a genuine new challenge.
Many modes to master.
The game’s interface and overall control scheme deserve credit. Taito made the tactfully sound decision to not try and shoehorn DS technology into the game, which results in a more authentic and less forced game. The game is confined to the bottom screen, which eliminates potential for an annoying blind spot if the game were to use both screens simultaneously. The D-pad is also used to move your shooter left and right, which feels much more natural than controlling it with the stylus. There are occasional times when the D-pad does feel inadequate to quickly move from left to right, especially when you have a crucial few seconds to destroy a few blocks before you lose. These are often rare and the D-pad works fine, though.
As far as a simple puzzle game goes, Taito did a great job in offering a solid amount of content. The first option on single player is a story mode which basically lumps different worlds into five stages at a time with a few screenshots to convey the standard story. What does make the story unique is that there are collectable items obtained in certain stages by causing them to drop by, say, shooting the blocks above them (rather than making them explode by shooting them directly). There are also boss fights which usually put a neat spin on the basic concept. Versus Mode in single player pits you against a CPU opponent on easy, medium, or hard difficulty to see who can survive the longest. This mode also features items you can get by destroying marked spheres that can help you or hinder your opponent.
It doesn’t end there, either. Endless Mode lets you see how high you can get your score on an (fittingly) endless game, while Challenge Mode tests how many points you can make in three or five minutes. If that wasn’t enough, you can shop for three more modes. The basic gameplay is nearly identical in these modes, but it’s rewarding to see developers include so many different modes for a simplistic puzzle game. The aforementioned shop can be browsed when you earn points, which can be used to purchase the modes and some cute gameplay alterations, like changing the colored orbs so that they resemble different planets. It’s a good incentive to give players rewards for their efforts.
If this review doesn’t seem too critical, there’s really nothing inherently wrong with Space Bust-A-Move. The game has no pretentions about being anything other than a cute, endearing puzzle game that’s great to play in small bursts or for up to an hour. Given how some puzzle games seem cynically slapped together and rushed out the door, Space Bust-A-Move actually ranks high up on the casual puzzle game spectrum. Single player alone has enough modes to keep any player busy for at least several hours, which is impressive for a concept this simple.
Multiplayer is also present with both local play and Nintendo Wi-Fi. You can get four players involved in a game with only a single copy of Space Bust-A-Move, or you can connect wirelessly. Both multiplayer modes work fine, although there are moments of sporadic lag in online play. It’s not so bad that it cripples the game, but it can throw your aim off and slow down the game periodically.
Closing thoughts
Space Bust-A-Move is an ideal title for someone who has a few minutes to kill. Whether you want to clear a world in Story Mode or you just want to play a quick Versus game, this is exactly how a casual puzzle game should work. It's nostalgic, creative, and has an impressive amont of content.
Remake protesters get creative
If you've been playing video games for a while, odds are you'll have been a little miffed in the past about a lackluster remake. Protesters for the remake of Hot Blooded Legend decided to get creatively.
GamePolitics has the story that a group of Chinese protesters, upset about the relaunch of the game not being sufficient compared to the original, formed up into a knot that literally prevented new players from entering the game's city. More than 40 characters just stood still at one entrance, and reportedly the protest extended to thousands of players. A self-described "counter-attack" by administrators teleported players away or just kicked them from the game.
See zonaeuropa for some impressive videos of the protest.
GamePolitics has the story that a group of Chinese protesters, upset about the relaunch of the game not being sufficient compared to the original, formed up into a knot that literally prevented new players from entering the game's city. More than 40 characters just stood still at one entrance, and reportedly the protest extended to thousands of players. A self-described "counter-attack" by administrators teleported players away or just kicked them from the game.
See zonaeuropa for some impressive videos of the protest.
Review - King of Fighters XII (PS3)
Developer: SNK Playmore
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Genre: Fighting
Console(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
The good: Colorful new visuals, detailed stages, some well thought out characters
The bad: Very few distinguishing features, feels stripped down, atrocious online lag
The memorable: Taking away half of someone's health meter with the critical counter.
The verdict: Essentially, the gameplay works. That’s all there is to say – it works. It’s repetitive and unremarkable despite some new gameplay additions and pretty graphics, which may be enough for hardcore series fans, but there isn’t much else to recommend.
The Roman numerals aren’t any kind of fancy symbolism – SNK’s King of Fighters franchise has arrived at its twelfth installment. The underappreciated series has featured team battles for the last fifteen years, and now SNK has seen fit to introduce KoF XII as a rebirth of the franchise. As far as rebirths go the series has finally gotten a much needed graphical overhaul and some gameplay tweaks to add variety, but the game’s main shortcoming comes from how it’s unremarkable – not terrible, but not particularly memorable. Hardcore KoF fans will be appreciative and the combat is fun, but there’s little to differentiate this from other fighting games.
Fewer fists, but new features.
King of Fighters XII is a fairly traditional fighting game, its most memorable feature being team battles. Instead of selecting one character, you pick three combatants from the battle screen to participate in fights that last up to five rounds. As a result you’ll spend a good deal of time tinkering with different teams and strategies, finding out what’s suited to your play style.
To the game’s credit, there are some new additions to combat. The most memorable is the critical counter system, which rewards good timing on an attack by allowing the user to unleash a massive flurry of combos. The guard attack also rewards timing by parrying a move and subsequently knocking an opponent down. These were interesting ideas on paper, but they’re far too easy to use for the crippling effects they can have on your opponent. Critical counters can easily take away more than half of the victim’s health bar, and the guard attack is just too easy to time. You and your opponent will find yourself doing a 2D version of the hokey pokey for how cautious you’ll be to try and avoid these killer moves.
King of Fighters fans may feel cheated at how watered down the twelfth game can feel. The roster has dipped to a relatively scant 22 fighters, which isn’t an impressive number for three on three matches. The game feels schizophrenic in its delivery – some characters seem to have been given attention regarding diverse abilities and fighting styles, while others feel like cardboard cutouts. Single player options are basic, including an Arcade mode with no boss, a Versus mode for offline competitive play, and a Training mode. Again, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with them, there’s just nothing that distinguishes these modes or makes them interesting for more than half an hour.
Perplexingly, several common staples of the King of Fighters series aren’t present. Rebirth of the franchise or not, it feels bizarre that the twelfth game in this series has no Survivor mode, reduced power meter moves, and a much more limited character roster. The idea of sequels should be to build on previous games, but KoF XII feels rushed in many ways.
What happens if I get lag out there? I'm dead!
The single player is also the best you get, because the online play is horrific regarding slowdown. This may actually be worse than the online lag in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. Even with game being patched, if you manage to struggle through the confusing menu system online matches are prone to extreme instances of slowdown and freezing. This is particularly annoying given that the new combat elements reward good timing with counter moves, but I was barely unable to get any of them off for how frequently the game was slowing down.
Conclusion
King of Fighters XII does deserve credit for the beautiful, vibrant graphical upgrades that players have requested for a while now, so the game doesn’t feel dated or old fashioned. Still, it feels odd that the game prioritized this when the core gameplay elements are limited. This is a short review, but there’s really very little say about King of Fighters XII. It’s unimaginative and has little to offer unless you’re a diehard King of Fighters fan.
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Genre: Fighting
Console(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
The good: Colorful new visuals, detailed stages, some well thought out characters
The bad: Very few distinguishing features, feels stripped down, atrocious online lag
The memorable: Taking away half of someone's health meter with the critical counter.
The verdict: Essentially, the gameplay works. That’s all there is to say – it works. It’s repetitive and unremarkable despite some new gameplay additions and pretty graphics, which may be enough for hardcore series fans, but there isn’t much else to recommend.
The Roman numerals aren’t any kind of fancy symbolism – SNK’s King of Fighters franchise has arrived at its twelfth installment. The underappreciated series has featured team battles for the last fifteen years, and now SNK has seen fit to introduce KoF XII as a rebirth of the franchise. As far as rebirths go the series has finally gotten a much needed graphical overhaul and some gameplay tweaks to add variety, but the game’s main shortcoming comes from how it’s unremarkable – not terrible, but not particularly memorable. Hardcore KoF fans will be appreciative and the combat is fun, but there’s little to differentiate this from other fighting games.
Fewer fists, but new features.
King of Fighters XII is a fairly traditional fighting game, its most memorable feature being team battles. Instead of selecting one character, you pick three combatants from the battle screen to participate in fights that last up to five rounds. As a result you’ll spend a good deal of time tinkering with different teams and strategies, finding out what’s suited to your play style.
To the game’s credit, there are some new additions to combat. The most memorable is the critical counter system, which rewards good timing on an attack by allowing the user to unleash a massive flurry of combos. The guard attack also rewards timing by parrying a move and subsequently knocking an opponent down. These were interesting ideas on paper, but they’re far too easy to use for the crippling effects they can have on your opponent. Critical counters can easily take away more than half of the victim’s health bar, and the guard attack is just too easy to time. You and your opponent will find yourself doing a 2D version of the hokey pokey for how cautious you’ll be to try and avoid these killer moves.
King of Fighters fans may feel cheated at how watered down the twelfth game can feel. The roster has dipped to a relatively scant 22 fighters, which isn’t an impressive number for three on three matches. The game feels schizophrenic in its delivery – some characters seem to have been given attention regarding diverse abilities and fighting styles, while others feel like cardboard cutouts. Single player options are basic, including an Arcade mode with no boss, a Versus mode for offline competitive play, and a Training mode. Again, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with them, there’s just nothing that distinguishes these modes or makes them interesting for more than half an hour.
Perplexingly, several common staples of the King of Fighters series aren’t present. Rebirth of the franchise or not, it feels bizarre that the twelfth game in this series has no Survivor mode, reduced power meter moves, and a much more limited character roster. The idea of sequels should be to build on previous games, but KoF XII feels rushed in many ways.
What happens if I get lag out there? I'm dead!
The single player is also the best you get, because the online play is horrific regarding slowdown. This may actually be worse than the online lag in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. Even with game being patched, if you manage to struggle through the confusing menu system online matches are prone to extreme instances of slowdown and freezing. This is particularly annoying given that the new combat elements reward good timing with counter moves, but I was barely unable to get any of them off for how frequently the game was slowing down.
Conclusion
King of Fighters XII does deserve credit for the beautiful, vibrant graphical upgrades that players have requested for a while now, so the game doesn’t feel dated or old fashioned. Still, it feels odd that the game prioritized this when the core gameplay elements are limited. This is a short review, but there’s really very little say about King of Fighters XII. It’s unimaginative and has little to offer unless you’re a diehard King of Fighters fan.
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