Faery Legends of Avalon Impression

Downloadable role-playing action waits on PSN

Role-playing games are not for everyone. They usually require hours of gameplay with tons of character management and customization and days of turn-based battles. The hook is usually a deep story where gamers know and care for the characters and settings during the course of such a long journey. Faery: Legends of Avalon looks to crack, no break, but crack this mold as an RPG download experience on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade. The first biggest change is the hours invested, usually clocking in around 10-15 hours (main quest) but what else? What should RPG fans get excited about and does Faery offer enough to hook new non-RPG gamers? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Gamers make the choice, become an Elf or Fairy and begin a journey to take on evil in the land. The chosen character will advance and evolve in battle and gamers make the choice on how to strengthen their main character and party members. Standard RPG formula here with a story seeing the magic of the fae world fading and gamers tasked with finding out why. Battles are turn based with the story being advanced through tons of reading. This is old school RPG as there is no voice work in-game. Conversations determine relationships so tread carefully on who you alienate as it could come back to haunt you later in-game.

Graphics – A very pretty looking game but don’t expect to see tons of unique characters. Heroes and baddies alike recycle look and feel. The environments look nice with bright visuals mixed with dark and gloomy settings. The over world detail is solid and continues into each battle sequence, very well done. The game will not hurt the retinas and is a solid effort as a downloadable title.

Sound – It’s not Final Fantasy in scope but the music matches the look and feel. Soothing and gentle, guiding the gamer is the core of the music but enter battle and the beat steps up. In an RPG good music is expected and Faery gets the job done

Design – The conversation relationship tree is well done and the leveling up / customization for each character is deep. The overall RPG formula hits on almost every cylinder with the one exception being the caring for characters. For a downloadable RPG Faery is solid but there is no connection forged with these characters and their story. It’s a fun tale but not a memorable one.

Miscellaneous – Episodic games are a mixed bag. There is price to consider but also time invested. With more Faery to come will gamers find enough in Legends of Avalon to make that next purchase at the same price?

Overall Faery: Legends of Avalon is one solid RPG that sports a decent price point and shows new gamers what RPG’s are all about and will feel welcome and familiar to fans of the genre. Gamers can go the route of looking for older RPG’s being made for download or they can take a fresh approach with a title that offers good customization and an interesting conversation tree for relationship building. Go with something new gamers.

Catherine on PS3 and Xbox 360 from Atlus

Get excited, get very, very excited for the mature, psychological and downright gorgeous looking game Catherine from Atlus U.S.A.

Catherine looks amazing but it’s the story this Atlus U.S.A. title brings to both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that should get gamers jazzed. The screenshots and teaser video show off a game that sports a mature romance thriller story wrapped in great looking HD animations. The few game sequences seen don’t disappoint but it’s the story that is exciting to see. The tale of Vincent and his love triangle with Katherine and Catherine is mature, seductive and quite thrilling in its look and content. A truly mature title that’s not over the top for the fun of it but rather to make this a truly unique experience. The game looks naughty and should make gamers blush a bit in content, but this is all based on the game description, image and video. Keep an eye on this one, it should be quite interesting.

Check out the images and video and here is more from Atlus on Catherine …

“About Catherine: Vincent likes his girlfriend. Katherine's pretty, smart, and successful. Trouble is, she's starting to talk about long-term commitment, something Vincent's spent his entire life avoiding. Since romantic complications are the last thing he wants to deal with, Vincent meets his friends for their regular night of drinks. Little does he know that he's about to be blindsided by a beautiful, seductive, irresistible freight train named Catherine. Suddenly, he's hung over in bed next to the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, unsure about the previous night's events. Was it just making out, he wonders, or did something more serious happen between them? Should he tell Katherine? Will he ever see Catherine again? Vincent's about to find that a stumble on the staircase of love can turn into a horrific, fatal plummet...”

… And here’s more on the gameplay features …

• The Horrors of Love - Vincent's waking fears, doubts, pressures, and growing guilt about commitment and fidelity now gleefully follow him into his dreams, manifesting as horribly disfigured monsters and a ticking clock. 
• Between a Rock and a Soft Place - The player must navigate Vincent through heavy moral decisions. As in real life, hardly anything is black and white. What is the value of honesty? What is the right thing to do? Either way, someone's going to get hurt. Worse yet, someone could die. 
• The Nightmare of Your Dreams - Under the watch of producer Katsura Hashino, acclaimed director of Persona 3 and Persona 4, famed character artist Shigenori Soejima and master composer Shoji Meguro create sights and sounds unlike anything else. As unforgettable and original as the game's narrative, Catherine's visual direction and musical score define and perfectly complement Vincent's terrifying ascent into the dizzying perils of love. 
• Escape With or From a Friend - Local competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes, in addition to leader boards, ensure that the many thrills and horrors of racing through twisted stages can be enjoyed by more than one player and add hours of extra gameplay to the overall experience.

Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded Impression

Sora is back again in digital form but is there anything new to do?

Kingdom Hearts was such a unique title when it first released on PlayStation 2, a mixing of Square Enix and Disney characters and worlds that many gamers wondered how such an odd pairing would turn out. Needless to say the first two titles were excellent gaming experiences with tight combat controls, easy inventory management, outstanding graphics but most importantly a story and characters that gamers could and do care about. Since Kingdom Hearts II the tale of Sora has been watered down a bit with many handheld offshoots, not sequels, but offshoots. From Game Boy to DS to PSP the story continues, the past is told and gaps filled in. While gamers await a true Kingdom Hearts III these portable offerings are nothing to ignore as they continue the tried and true formula established from the beginning. Here in lies the problem as there have been tweaks to the formula but even die-hard series fans have to be feeling the déjà vu.

The most recent offering on the Nintendo DS is Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. This tale sees a digital Sora visiting familiar locations as he sorts out some data issues in Jiminy’s two journals (from KH 1 and 2). Could this story give tips to future Kingdom Hearts as it takes place after the first two games? Game time will tell, but what else does Re:coded offer? Let’s take a look

Gameplay – Take control of Sora (yup, the one and only original … sort of) and prepare for an adventure involving Donald, Goofy and Mickey with appearances by some very familiar faces. The action is third-person and gamers can upgrade attacks, skills, the keyblade and their buddies as they look to clean up the data scrambled world of Jiminy’s journals. That’s the main plot, Jiminy recording of the first two games gets all blue screen of death and it’s up to digital Sora to fix. Gamers get some variety as the various Disney worlds traveled too have different themes (action/adventure based, turn based etc) but the overall formula is Kingdom Hearts classic.

Graphics – The DS can do solid graphics that feel like PS2. The larger XL screen is a god send for gamers and really helps Re:coded shine. The FMV sequences are great and the in-game action does not lag. Some pop-in, loss of location happens but that’s more on the game engine than the overall look and feel. A solid looking title that keeps the sharpness of the franchise going and is on par with the best looking DS titles.

Sound – Surprisingly solid tracks keep the action moving and will feel familiar to fans. The opening sequence is still a keeper but after this many years couldn’t a new theme be found? Even the menu commands are the same, ditto on limited voice work. Great sounding package overall but one that’s gamers have heard before.

Design – Changes to the leveling system keep the computer/program feel going but this new Stat Matrix is more window dressing than true upgrade. There is also the avatar system but unless gamers have friends to exchange with not a lot to speak of here either. Overall the design is familiar and a re-hash of what’s come before. Not a bad thing as the KH formula is solid and works well on every system to date.

Miscellaneous – It’s a digital Sora but its Sora. The recent handheld entries have been filler titles, retellings or back-story but this is the first post-KH II title that stars Sora and takes place after the events of KH II. This will get fans blood pumping in anticipation of the ever requested Kingdom Hearts III.

Overall Re:coded will feel like an old friend that fans of the franchise will be more than happy to visit with again. While the gameplay, sound and overall design remains excellent after all these years the waiting for a true sequel sucks. Re:coded serves the double-edged purpose of showing off how memorable and great Kingdom Hearts was and is while starting up the fires for part 3 yet again.

Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers’ Edition Impression

Another year; another round of records. Guinness keeps it rolling and the formula is solid.

With Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers’ Edition the publishers have continued the fine stride achieved with the 2010 edition. The gaming sections put great focus on records by genre with a few featured games while the feature sections are great and could stand on their own with more in-depth coverage. So what’s this 2011 edition offering up? Let’s take a look section by section.

Introduction – Welcome to 2011. What’s changed this year, what’s new and gone … Introduction lays it all out essentially doing what an introduction should.

Page 8-19 – Why am I grouping these sections? Simple; they are round-ups of the entire year, a nice summary but not something to talk about in great detail. Seeing the various awards and sources in one location is nice and a great way to get into the meat of the 2011 edition.

Page 20-35 – Two page recaps of each major system and handheld including smart phones and the iPad. Each section highlights 3-4 of the top games per system and some fun facts from 2010. The games are great for debate but a very nice, concise look at the changes, accomplishments for the systems where our favorite games live.

Feature: Making Money Playing Videogames – Five ways to make some duckets in the world of gaming. Pro-gamer or professional gold farmer this is not always the fun world of family friendly games. While this section does not go into detail on actually getting into these arenas at least it’s a head-start for gamers wondering if there is a career in this … or even just a distraction with some money involved.

Feature: The 3D Revolution – Look back on this section in a few years to say ‘wow, this was the beginning’ or ‘what a crock that was.’ 3D on a handheld such as the 3DS could work but how will the new genre play out on consoles especially for a low buy-base of 3DHD TV’s?

Feature: A Touch of Class – Starting to touch on the popularity of iPhone and iPad based games this will be a new section in years to come. Tables and smart phones gain in power and complexity and the games featured are no longer just simple puzzlers. These are deep games, many of which exist online also and are making a play on consoles also. Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds on PSN anyone?

Feature: Collectors & Cos-players – There are whole volumes of books based on cos-playing (dressing in costumes folks) as well as over the top collections of content. These two pages wet reader’s appetites but leaves gamers handing with so little content. Again, not a knock on the section but readers are encouraged to go check out some of the collections of books out about cos-playing.

Feature: Indie Gaming – User created, small studio created? Yes on both and much more. Odd that as the systems and consoles get more complicated budding developers can get more titles into the public eye. As major studios and publishers focus on titles that will turn a nice ducket the indie community is there to fill in the gaps with tight, addictive games that would never see the light of day in the old world of games publishing.

Feature: Pro-gaming Tables – These guys and gals make money gaming. Are they the best? Maybe not but they do make money doing this so they are the best at what they do.

Shooting Games – A look at first-person to shooter to light gun games. The focus moves away from looking at specific games as in the past a takes a look at records in a number of categories. Well there is one exception, a little deeper look at the Halo franchise.

Sports Games – More than just Madden folks. This section follows the newer format of looking at records and not by sport by rather type. Madden and football get their own sections but extreme, European and American are all group and really the genre has been reduced in recent years.

Racing Games – Simulation, arcade, cart and street racing records covered with a look at the long running series of Mario Kart games. For all its simplicity it’s one of the most addictive, fun to play with friends titles ever.

Party Games – A newer genre that groups the music games (dying?) with other get up and move titles such as the featured Wii Sports. The groupings are make sense with Mini Games (Wii Sports, many Wii games), lifestyle games (think exercise) and three rhythm based games; karaoke, instruments and dancing. Look in 2011 for Kinect and PS Move titles to make it into this grouping.

Action-Adventure Games – A large grouping as both action and adventure games could very well live on their own. Featuring The Legend of Zelda is a no-brainer and for this gamer the section brings back so many memories. The section feature a variety of groupings from open world to narrative, stealth, survival horror, 2D and 3D platformers as well as graphic adventures. Again a lot of information here, heck in the past survival horror received its own category, but one that does a great job of capturing many records with looks at a few titles in particular.

Fighting Games – Leading off with Street Fighter and going from the relevant 2D fighters to 3D with some newer combat sports and hand and slash thrown in. Nobody can argue with the content and the records are grand. Ever wonder about the most expensive fighting game controller? Just take a look.

Puzzle Games – This has to be the section most influenced by both mobile devices as well as downloadable content. Tetris is the granddaddy of them all and leads off with a nice feature before jumping into records for block, spatial, physics-based, logic and word puzzles. Yes a title like Angry Birds is also seen here but can be tied into the touch of class future.

Role-playing Games – Not sure about Fallout being the featured RPG but no arguing with its acclaim as an awesome game. That said the world of RPG’s has grown so much thanks in large part to the addictiveness of MMORPG’s. Readers get Japanese, Western and action RPG’s as well as MMORPG for Fantasy, Sci-fi and social. A second feature takes a look at WoW, World of Warcraft.

Strategy & Simulation Games – The power of consoles increases making this genre more accessible to non-PC (powerful ones) owning gamers. Civilization is one of the grandest strategy titles of all time and deserves its feature and a quick look at turn-based, real-time and simulation titles shows off an often neglected genre.

Instant Gaming – Fire up the iPad, Android, iPhone or whatever and get to gaming in an instant. No water needed for this instant mix, just a need to game on the go in a simple and quick way. Classic arcade, mobile gaming and social network gaming are featured as is Farmville. These games lives not only on the go but also on social media platforms such as Facebook and as downloadable content on every console. Old games come to life, live again and the quick addictiveness (and simplicity) are all present.

Top 50 Games Characters – Sales records based … nope and this section will spark a lot of debate. 13,000 votes cast and some placements will surprise (Shadow, really Shadow made the list) but the top 10 rocks, period.

Twin Galaxies Scoreboards – Twin Galaxies keeps the official records and these pages list such records with some great snippets about games decorating the page borders.

Overall Guinness gamer’s edition offers up a lot of great content and makes 2011 a year for the records. This may sound odd but the focus in this edition is less on individual games and their records. The focus on pure records by genre allows for more content, a much broader range of data to digest. Rock solid and cannot wait to see how games change by the time 2012 hits.

Call of Duty: Black Ops on PlayStation 3 Impression

Not for the faint of heart, this call to duty is one amazingly polished ride.

War games are violent and bloody with a realism in HD not seen on this level before but they are always just a game, until now. Call of Duty: Black Ops is an excellent first-person shooter and follows very well in the path set by the Modern Warfare entries but it jacks up the disturbance just enough to make most gamers take pause. What is this fine line in gaming warfare that’s close to being crossed? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – You are Alex Mason, former CIA, solider, patriot (?) and you are being tortured. No opening training course level here, its right into the fire and a world of brutality not seen in Call of Duty. The core mechanics remain as this is one of the most polished, solid first-person shooters on the market. The single player story sees games, as noted, assume the role of Alex Mason as he must relive memories to figure out a grander mystery that spans decades. Like flashbacks in a movie but playable and pulled out quite well. Add to Alex’s story the inclusion of 14 multi-player levels with more ready for download and gamers get one incredible package.

Glossing over many fine points for one reason. Call of Duty, especially since Modern Warfare, has nailed it on every level. The game is a thing of mature beauty that fans of this genre and franchise should already know about. Played Halo, Medal of Honor, Doom, etc then that’s the basics folks. Black Ops does to perfection single and multi-player in the same package.

Graphics – To quote Vader, ‘impressive.’ Everything about Black Ops looks good and realistic. This in turn makes some of the torturous choices all the more difficult. The environments look outstanding and upon close up views are quite detailed. Customizations lose no detail and as the body parts fly … well let’s just say its good 3D TV is not that widespread now. It looks real folks, it looks very, very real.

Oh wait, there is 3D but it does not look that great and loses a lot of the texture, frame-rate seen in the solid non-3D game.

Sound – Outstanding voice work brings the game to life and the sounds of war are spot on (coming from a non-vet like me). The soundtrack is excellent as needed and silence is put to great use. For a title like Black Ops the sound aspect is not the reason to purchase but it really shines.

Design – The formula has been set and is polished to near perfection with a great blend of single player and multiplayer options. Upgrading in multi-player, needing to unlock/buy equipment keeps it fresh and can help gamers get better faster. The moments of brutality lead some to question this design aspect but there is zero arguing that Black Ops is not dang near FPS perfection.

Miscellaneous – Moral choices in a game will make gamers pause. Being tortured and doing the torturing. Picking the type of brutality to inflict on victims that look so real will hit home on many gamers. These are not aliens or some funny mini-game, these are very realistic feeling moments that show just how close games are now to reality. An escape or not, these in-game moments will stick with gamers.

Overall Call of Duty: Black Ops is solid. There are plenty of review sites that delve into the multi-player aspects but for this gamer just know this; Black Ops plays great, looks outstanding, sound incredible and is a joy to play. There are faults but it’s nitpicking when hours pass by without knowing it. Black Ops is a keeper and should not be missed by FPS fans.

10 Free and Addictive Games for Your Droid

Gaming on Droid; as good as iPhone?

iPhone has been written about time and time again when it comes to applications, especially gaming apps. Now, like in every other aspect, Droid is catching up so let’s check in with Online Certificate Programs (I know right) and read their 10 Free and Addictive Games for Your Droid.

What’s nice about this list, besides being an easy read to the point, is the inclusion of video to show off some of the games. Seeing is believing especially when the controls can only get so complex. Who missed the list? Which Droid game was overlooked? Chime in and let your voice be heard.

Oh, I love me some top 10 list, who doesn’t?

Batman: Arkham City Comic Book Miniseries by DC Comics

The Dark Knight gets even more back-story for the upcoming Batman: Arkham City video game

Batman fans, get excited, get very excited. The upcoming Batman: Arkham City is receiving its own six-issue comic series from DC Comics. This series will help bridge the gap from 2009’s excellent, nay amazingly amazing Batman: Arkham Asylum to Arkham City. The writer is Paul Dini who’s handled the two games as well as Batman: the Animated Series. What this means is the story is in very rock solid hands. The first issues land in May, yes two issues a month, in both digital and print modes. The accompanying image is by concept artist Carlos D’anda and it’s a thing of beauty that moves the gritty realism of the Arkham games into comic form.

Here are some official detail but needless to say this should make the wait for Arkham City all the easier.

“BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY comic book miniseries announced!

Written by Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini (who also penned both Arkham games) and drawn by Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City concept artist Carlos D’anda, BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY picks up one year after the original game, where former Arkham Warden turned newly elected Mayor of Gotham City Quincy Sharp has decided to close down the infamous institution. In its stead, he establishes “Arkham City,” the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, inmates can roam free and do whatever they want as long as they don’t try to escape. To run this urban prison, Sharp has appointed Dr. Hugo Strange, a man who knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Each issue of the miniseries will be available day-and-date digitally worldwide for $2.99 each. These releases will alternate with 8-page digital-first interludes that will expand on the story included in the miniseries. Written by Dini and drawn by a variety of artists, these digital stories will focus on The Dark Knight’s many enemies as they vie for power in this new city within a city. Each eight-page digital-first interlude will be available for .99 cents, releasing in between issues of the miniseries, and will later be included in print in the BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY collected edition.

“The digital first stories offer a unique incentive for fans to experience interesting and exciting stories beyond the pages in the printed comic,” said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher, “The additional pages will serve as interludes within the regular issues and won’t be necessary to follow the main story of the miniseries. Fans will also be able to read these interludes in print later, when we publish the collected edition.”

Read the comic before you play the game, and keep an eye out for the issue #1 variant cover, utilizing in-game graphics. BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY will double-ship in its first month, with issues 1 & 2 landing in May.”

UDON to release Mega Man Gigamix manga series

UDON and Capcom are set to unleash another great title. Are you paying attention?

Comics and video games go together like peanut butter and jelly, Mork and Mindy, beer and … well the point is they exist very nicely together. While big boy publisher like Marvel and DC Comics put out many video game tie-ins they are not the leader when it comes to comics based on video game series. UDON rules the day thanks to their relationship with Capcom and the slew of Street Fighter, Darkstalkers and Mega Man comics (just to name a few). UDON keeps the stories going through every iteration of their games from the more well known titles to the little guys. The latest video game related title is Mega Man Gigamix. Check out the exclusive images below then head over to UDON for more on Gigamix.

The question is why should gamers care? Simply put, for fans of these storied franchises getting this quality of artwork and story is just plain awesome. UDON hooks up some silly comics (check out the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom) to hard bound beautiful art books for the classy collector. The manga follows a more traditional manga format smaller than comics and in black and white. Mega Man Gigamix offers up very detailed art with the same unusual cast of baddies to fight found in the games. Here is the synopsis from UDON …

“This past year, Hitoshi Ariga’s classic Mega Man Megamix manga series was finally brought to English readers, much to the delight of Mega-fans who had been waiting to read the manga since its Japanese release over ten years ago. Now, with another decade of experience under his belt, Ariga is back with the all-new Mega Man Gigamix, an epic 3-volume manga series set to become the greatest Mega Man story ever!

Gigamix Vol.1 sets the stage with an exciting outer space adventure where Mega Man faces off against the Robot Masters of Mega Man 3, as well as the gigantic Gamma robot! The space setting of this tale acts as a prelude to Gigamix Vol.2 & 3, where all robots good and evil alike must join forces to defend the Earth from the ultra-powerful Stardroids! This two-part epic features every single Robot Master from the first eight Mega Man® games, plus fan favorites like Bass, Treble, Proto Man, Duo, the Stardroids, Rush, Beat, Roll, Dr. Wily, Dr. Cossack, Dr. Light, and of course the blue bomber himself – Mega Man!”

So there it is. UDON, a fine publisher of Capcom based comics (and more) is hooking up fans of Mega Man with some excellent content and that’s just the tip of the ice berg folks. Checkout UDON for more and enjoy the images.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Impression

Charming, polished and deep; Sack Boy delivers the goods yet again.

For any gamer who has ever uttered the phrase " I could create a better game" it's time to prove it. The ease of use, feature options available on LittleBigPlanet 2 on PlayStation 3 delivers a package that's as fun to play as it is easy to create on. A game that's cute on the outside with one he'll of a creative engine appeals to the single-player and multi all in the same package. What's not to love? Let's take a look.

Gameplay – Like the commercial says it really does everything. Let’s take this in chunk; Chunk 1 is the single player, platformer that’s story driven and highlights many of the aspects, physics found in LBP2. Gamers assume the role of Sack Boy and get to adventuring. Gamers can customize the look of Sack Boy, or Girl and even get to import LittleBigPlanet (1) purchases and costumes, very cool. Gamers run, jump, grab, throw, activate switches, avoid baddies and electricity in a very fun story. Chunk 2 is the creation aspect which utilizes a very deep yet simple to use interface for creating levels, games, events which can then be shared online, played with friends. This goes into Chunk 3 which is the creation ability. Create a kart racer, traditional platforming level, a puzzle game, sports game … the mind is the limit for creation in LBP2.

Graphics – Beautiful looking with tons of textures, lighting effects and detail that never lets LBP2 lose its charm. It really is a plain amazing looking title in its variety and will put gamers in a good mood just by playing. It’s very charming.

Sound – Voiced segments are nice, help drive the story and are well acted but knowing the storage capacity of a Blu-ray disc why not have more? The music has a charm that approaches Katamari Damacy and will have gamers humming without their knowing it.

Design – Not even going to try to cover the amazing design in LBP2. Gamers get one rock solid single-player title while also having one powerful creation tool which allows for some amazing levels. Some of the best created levels from the first title also make their way into LBP2 so a nice piece of continuation for fans. The hours which can be lost finding, buying, creating costumes for Sack Boy is simple amazing and fun. Top to bottom this is what a sequel should be with new ideas and a polish to what was an already great title, very well designed.

Miscellaneous – Importing LittleBigPlanet content is HUGE. Gamers spent hours, days, weeks playing the first title, creating content, buying costumes (love Marvel costumes) and being able to move these in, not start from scratch is rock solid. Not many games, almost none, give gamers the chance to pick up where they left off (how many times does a hero start from level 1?). A fine design decision which not only helps out fans but also offers a ton of launch day content for noobs.

Overall LittleBigPlanet 2 offers so much game that the above impression does not come close to covering every aspect properly. Sack Bots, playing with friends, sports and racing games … there is so much to LBP2 it really is amazing. What really unique is gamers of all ages, preferences can find something to dig in this one little Blu-ray. Not just a great game but a classic that PlayStation 3 owners need to get, not check out but flat out get, buy, purchase … you get the point.

Gaming on Friendship Day

Sorry St. Valentine but you've been PC'd

Friendship Day; the latest PC'ing of a holiday and/or event this time replacing Valentine’s Day. So with this shift from love to friendship how should gamers now celebrate? No more gaming with your gal or guy, it's time to game with friends (but don't we do this every day?) sadly yes but to be PC now it's time to look at a few of the newest and best games for friendship day. Are there more, yes, but these need to be shared on this very special day of friendship.

• LittleBigPlanet 2 – Newest addition on the list and with the creativity options and multi-player features this is one great gaming experience that’s cute to boot. Customize even to make the environment, Sack Person, meet the likes of that special friend. 
• Kinect and PlayStation Move – Yes the Wii gets points for being very established so why not try something new with some friends. While Move feels more like an extension of what Wii offers the jacked up graphics help for a new gameplay experience. Kinect really jacks up the friendship factor with motions, movements and fun not felt since gamers first picked up a Wii-mote. Get up and move with your buddies. 
• Guitar Hero and Rock Band – Really, does this category need to be explained. Play and more importantly for non-instrument folks, sing away the night. There is music out there in droves so choice is not an issue with friends. 
• Halo: Reach – Online friends, friends in the same room, friends looking for an amazing gaming experience for a much storied franchise. Be a Spartan with yo buddies. 
• Call of Duty: Black Ops – Ah, for the darker friends it’s a less Sci-fi take on a fragging good time. Polished like no other the action in Black Ops is a thing of beauty and nothing says friendship like racking up kills as a team … or against each other. 
• DC Universe Online – Create a hero and battle with or against the greatest heroes and villains on DC’s Earth and share with the virtual type of friends yet again … also works in World of Warcraft.

Point is folks that call it what you will, Friendship Day or Valentine’s Day, there are plenty of gaming types and options to engage in with that special someone. Gaming guys and gals can get into the more ‘gamey’ first person shooters or online MMORPG’s but for the casual fans, those looking to buy boxes of chocolates or perfumes for their loved ones, there are options to make a special gaming moment for you also. Nothing says I love you like jumping up an down, side to side on a virtual raft.

Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS. Darkdeath Evilman on PSP Impression

More portable goodness from the house of Prinny with Z.H.P.

How can any game with Evilman in the title be bad? Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS. Darkdeath Evilman on PSP delivers hours of addictive, customization gameplay with the same twisted humor, setting and characters NIS America has become known for. There are many references to past games such as Disgaea (hello Prinny) and to the costume, live action shows prevalent in Japan that fans will dig. All this means nothing without solid gameplay and on this front Z.H.P. delivers. What’s a gamer to expect, let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Lots of customization await in this straight forward strategy role-playing game. Gamers take the lead character, customize their look and feel and go at it in many, many levels of intense, odd and humorous encounters. Build a base, decorate it and control the heroes movements from there before jumping into the gird based, turn based battles.

Graphics – Bright, vivid and very old-school. Anyone familiar with Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea will feel right at home on the semi-3D playing fields full of colorful characters. The characters static images look good with limited animation but the core look just feels so NIS. A good looking game but nothing mold or ground breaking for the genre.

Sound – Music has catchy tunes that remind of NIS games past (seeing a pattern here?) while the limited voice work is well done with perfect overacting and over the top emotions. A fun entry into what has always been a great sounding genre of games from NIS.

Design – Random generation rules the day offering tons of re-playability and the amount of customization really makes this a shining example of solid S-RPG building. The characters and settings are fun but the random levels and customization make this a truly great on the go game.

Miscellaneous – Mentioned titles like Final Fantasy Tactics take themselves very serious with a deep, politically driven story. Z.H.P. is quite the opposite and it’s refreshing. It’s even more loosey goosey than Disgaea and is so much fun to play. Also Prinny should be in every game as a wife, just too good dood.

Overall Z.H.P. offers up what fans of NIS should expect; quirky, fun and very deep strategy role-playing action that will consume hours of their lives. Its fun, has an audience who know who they are and should be picked up. Video gaming is not always about what people, the experts, say are the top titles, sometimes it comes down to personal preference.

Gaming and fatherhood: finding a balance

Thinks it’s hard to game and be a father? Here’s a few tips from one who’s made it work

As a gamer it's easy to get lost for hours in an epic RPG or engaging FPS. These hours were easy to come by as a single youth and got more challenging with a girlfriend, but were still attainable even into marriage but now a new challenge; kids. These are not baby, in a crib feed me age nor are they let's play together age kids but the on-between. Age 2+ who are mobile and learning but not interested in gaming structure. What's a gaming dad to do, and no, playing M rated games in front of them is not an option nor is missing out on this special age where learning and parental engagement is so important. A gaming father needs to be involved heavily with their kids, period, so how to achieve the hours of gaming time from our youth? Here are five tips from one who's managed to game without taking away from the joys of fatherhood:

Not every option requires zero child involvement. In fact with some new gaming devices the young and not ready for a controller can engage with old pops and learn while doing it.

• Budget Time – Easier said than done but it’s critical to find time which does not take away from family to game. After the kids are asleep is a choice but don’t neglect the wife, house work, etc. This turns into late night gaming which needs a balance with sleep. Finding 1-2 hours in the evening is doable but not every night. Think 1-3 days a week. Another twist will help you and your spouse recharge. Watch the kids for 2-4 hours alone on a weekend, give mom that alone time to do whatever she wants. This allows for bonding with kids and some payback for when mom spends her time with the kids. Each parent gets time alone with kids, special time, while the other gets recharge time or gaming hours in this instance. 
• Demos – Quick to download, quick to play and usually each is under an hour. Download often knowing there is no time commit to finishing a full game and still get that gaming fix. Due to the quick nature of these demo’s time can actually be fit in throughout the day and evening. 
• Involve the kids – Don’t turn the little ones into gold mining, level building beast of burden but rather look for titles that will appeal to them, to their mother also. Get Kinect and move around. Since no hand held control is needed the kiddies can get into the jump around action of a game like Kinect Adventures. This is also a bonding time with the kids are you’re sharing an active activity. Point out colors, shapes, engage with your children. Don’t sit and play while dictating what’s what, but make it active for them and mom should did this also and give a bit more slack when playing your games. Family game night is not all about board games anymore so try something different. 
• Go Portable – Be it on the latest smart phone, DS or PSP gaming on the game allows gaming dads to un-camp from in front of the ol’ HD. Get the kids into an art activity, help them while playing some mobile games. Also great way to take breaks at work (short ones folks) and to kill time while running errands. Finding a game that sync’s with a console counterpart is clutch. 
• Less is more, there is no finish – Ever spent 80+ hours on a game? Forget about those days as a father … as an engaged father. Don’t expect to spend anywhere near this time gaming and expect your kids to know who you are. Pick the games you play carefully, see what their average finish time is and determine if it’s attainable. Games lead to divorce for a reason so remember why you got married, had kids in the first place. Games will always be there, kids grow so pick your time investments wisely and don’t be upset if you never finish.

Gaming is a great escape, a great distraction and hobby to have if, like anything has been done in moderation. As a father you want to be involved with your family so hopefully these few tips will help with that gaming fix while maintaining good family balance.

What tips do you have? What helps fathers out there game while keeping the family healthy and what are some pitfalls of too much gaming?

Pokemon Black and White; stepping up in 2011

How does catching all them little Pokémon get more addictive? Take a look

With the March 6th of Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version quickly approaching not only will gamers get a new entry in the classic franchises RPG formula but they’ll get an easier way to play online with the Pokémon Global Link web site. What’s the deal, what do gamers get on the site set to launch soon after the release of Black and White?

• Gamers will sync their gameplay from the DS to PC allowing for access to customizable web-only content 
• Ability to friend additional Pokémon 
• Communicate with fellow Pokémon Trainers 
• Earn and view Worldwide Battle Ratings 
• And of course the perquisite ‘more’

Access will be gained using a Pokémon Trainer Club account. This gets the franchise closer to what’s at the heart of Pokémon, not catching but battling and doing so against real trainers. This is not limiting gamers to friends and those close enough to share a cart but rather a truly unique way to get online, get ranked and even, potentially, invited to regional, national and global tournaments. It’s a truly outstanding experience that removes so many borders from gamers looking to compete without travel.

So gamers get a new Pokémon video game and (finally) an easy way to battle online with DS data but what else? Why else should gamers get geeked for Pokémon in 2011? Ask and ye shall receive.

• New Movie; Pokémon-Zoroark: Master of Illusions – Set to premier on Cartoon Network on February 5th at 7:00 P.M 
• New Manga based on Movie from Viz 
• New TCG Expansion Black & White 
• Black & White Mall Tour 
• New merchandise and toys

So yeah, there’s a lot to get excited about and very early in the year. It’s going to be great to be a Pokémon gamer, collector and fan in 2011.

Epic Mickey Impression

No Sora or Final Fantasy cameos in this solid adventure starring Mickey Mouse

One of the best games on Wii in 2010 stars a very familiar mouse in a setting last seen in the 16-bit era. Disney’s Epic Mickey is a solid visual adventure that takes the classic 2D gameplay from Mickey’s earlier platforming days and merges it with a bit of Kingdom Hearts 3D adventuring for a must have offering. No gimmicks, no mini-game love but rather one solid game that all ages of the family can enjoy. Why should this mouse be in your house; let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Mickey climbs into a painting, makes a mess of the wizards Magical Kingdom imagery and years later must come back and clean up the mess that is now called Wasteland. Mickey, a little more mischievous than most may recall, must pick up paint brush and paint thinner to clean this mess by recreating the locations found in Wasteland. Along the way, as gamers point and paint with the Wii-mote, Mickey will encounter long lost, forgotten Disney characters and settings. The adventure will feel like many adventure platformers on the Wii but its unique content, the pulling for Disney archives, keeps it fresh and fun for fans and family. The controls feel natural, needed but the camera can often be a bother and lead to cheap death from occasional baddies and bad platforming. Expect to take on many quests to fulfill the clean up requirements as well as plenty of un-lockable secrets.

Graphics – Mickey and gang look outstanding with a polish few Wii titles can match. That being said the real star(s) were the twisted environments of Wasteland as well as the effects seen with the paint brush and thinner. The revamped clips from yesteryear look great also and mesh very well with a title that, while not always bright and happy, gets the job done.

Sound – While no characters speak the overall sound package is outstanding. The musical score sets the right tone and will leave many a Disney fan wanting these tracks to spice up their daily routines. Did any of the original work sound this good? An outstanding effort especially on the Wii.

Design – Implementation of the brushing, spray and shoot mechanics of the brush and thinner is well pulled off and avoids the gimmick tagging Epic could have received. Instead the controls are as much a fluid part of the game as Mickey and the Wasteland. The levels are all twisted versions of original works and created in a manner which satisfies gamers for cleaning it all up, it looks and feels good later. The tiresome questing and backtracking could have been nicely avoided but overall a solid, well designed first Mickey on Wii.

Miscellaneous – Wasteland and the use of long forgotten characters such as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit help make the content so unique for Disney gaming fans. Titles such as Kingdom Hearts use the well known franchises, the Princesses, but getting a taste of something more unique, original in it’s being forgotten, really satisfies.

Overall gamers looking for a Kingdom Hearts clone on Wii will be a bit disappointed, in a good way. Epic Mickey paints a path all its own with solid controls, great graphics and outstanding sound that utilizes the Wii’s controls in an ‘it-feels-right’ manner. Only a bad camera and resulting frustrating platforming experience take away from the overall package but not enough to ignore. Mickey makes his return to video game adventuring with a solid overall effort that calls on Disney’s past rather than Square Enix’s.

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes on PlayStation 3 Impression

The Sengoku Basara anime rocks, does the game?

A great anime does not always translate into great video gaming. Even with Dragon Ball Z’s successes on PlayStation 2 it had a fair share of failures while Naruto also went through growing pains on the PS2 only to finally shine on the current generation of systems. The advantage these two big hitters have over Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes on PlayStation 3 is pedigree. Naruto and Goku got to work through their growing pains, the stigma that haunts many an anime game here in the States. Sadly the promise seen in the Sengoku Basara anime does not translate in-game for a number of reasons and without the pedigree of a Naruto it’s a safe bet to assume it SB won’t get the chance to work out the kinks. Fans can dream but what makes this first title struggle? Let’s take a look …

Gameplay – Take control of one of multiple heroes (12 total) in 16th century Japan in battles and campaigns that will determine the future of the country. Each hero provides different story arcs in a larger scale campaign setting where gamers jump into battles third-person style where wave after wave of similar looking enemies attack. Gamers unleash special moves and take on boss battles in a style that will be instantly familiar to fans of the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Lots of running and fighting is what gamers can expected without much change to strategy no matter the level of game reached. The ability to play with another gamer keeps the formula a bit fresh but not by much.

Graphics – Dated looks don’t help endear Sengoku Basara to non-fans of the anime. This feels like a first-generation next-generation title where the developers put some thought into the re-imagined historical figures but no time on settings or the droves of enemies. All the action and style the anime brings is lost in-game. The Naruto and Dragon Ball games look great as they mimic the shows they are based on and this is a path that would have served Sengoku Basara very well.

Sound – Forgettable soundtrack and voice actors yelling a lot. Not a great formula for gamer’s audio pleasure.

Design – Uninspired design that mimics past titles of similar ilk but fails to innovate and bring to life the magic seen in the anime.

Miscellaneous – The anime rocks and while the game is repetitive and not super polished there is a charm to playing as those characters watched for hours in the anime. On the flip side for gamers with no taste of the anime go out now and experience so much more to this franchise and why this game is even close to relevant.

Overall Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes could have rocked if it only matched what the anime delivered. The repetitive gameplay on an old formula with no innovation and lackluster graphics keep the game from reaching the levels of the anime. Fans should give it a spin but sadly unless the anime is already in gamers DVD or Blu-ray library then just pass.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage on PS3 Impression

Will Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage be a ramped up, awesome video game or does this anime classic show it’s age?

Having been out for a few months, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage for PlayStation 3 is a game fans have already embraced and which the average gamer may find a bit lacking. That being said, for a franchise as iconic as Fist of the North Star can developers really complain about this perception? Many an anime fan cut their teeth on this uber violent anime and since it’s been out for well over a decade how much of a newer fan base was this title hoping to obtain? Was this the goal or were gamers just getting a nice dose of the anime gaming love US gamers have been missing for so many years? Let’s take a look …

Gameplay – Assume the role of Ken as he wanders the desolate wasteland taking on baddies and exacting justice through incredible martial arts moves while seeking out ghosts from his past which almost lead to his death. The action is a third-person slugfest where gamers run around, pick a path, fight waves of enemies and a bad camera while taking on bosses with signature moves pulled from both the anime and manga Fist of the North Star.

Graphics – As a third-person brawler the overall look of Ken’s Rage is average with solid textures and in-game action. The special moves and cut scenes look great, worthy of the anime and manga but the entire graphical package is pulled down thanks to the apocalyptic setting. How many desolate wastelands look good even with the best graphics engine behind them? Fans will feel the anime and manga come to life while the average gamer will just feel a bit of repetitiveness. This said gamers will be hard pressed to experience better exploding heads and bodies.

Sound – The soundtrack and effects sounds all bring back fond memories of anime watched long ago. Great for fans but forgettable and uninspired … plain really when compared to other games, like listening to noob night on open guitar night.

Design – Read manga, watch anime, make into game and thus the developers were done. The game’s story and action, special moves, everything is set from the word go so it comes down to which game engine to implement and on this front Ken’s Rage just feels average and ok. Not a well designed games are gamers are funneled down set paths to fight wave upon wave of the same enemies with bosses thrown in. For the average gamer not much fun but for fans of the franchise a freaking blast reliving these encounters and epic battles, really, no joke, great for fans.

Miscellaneous – Finishing moves rock! The muddy looks of the somewhat long levels and repetitive enemies all melts away when gamers unleash the perfect finishing move with visual flare one very unique looking bosses.

Overall Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage is a fairly average third-person brawl fest, for the average gamer, but a tasty treat worth playing over and over for fans of the franchise. It’s these core gamers who will want to unlock every secret and story point, to take control of every character and just enjoy Ken’s Rage for what it is; a well crafted, faithful to the source material anime gamers dream.

Video game dreaming in 2011

A look at some of the games I’m dreaming about in 2011

A new year, a new set of release dates for games. Simply put here is a list of games scheduled to hit in 2011 that this gamer cannot wait to play, which all gamers hope live up to the hype. Some release dates are still TBD so here’s to hoping Resistance 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Rising can make 2011 even more wonderful. Without further ado here is the list in no particular order …

Multi-platform – Since these titles hit any combination of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC or DS lets group them together.

• LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC) – This formula works so well for Star Wars and getting more adventures is nothing to clone around about. 
• Bodycount (Xbox 360, PS3) – Think there will be killing in this FPS, oh yes! 
• Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – Lets just call it what it is. Game of the Year candidate #1. 
• Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – Scary space action continues as the infection spreads. 
• DC Universe Online (PS3, PC) – Is this the new City of Heroes, a new way to get online console gamers into more traditional PC gaming or just a bad-@$$ way for DC to make some money? 
•  Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – Such a dark, delicious take on Alice returns and thanks to recently film and literary entries fans should be weeping with joy for this one. 
• Dragon Age 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – Take a game of the year, jack up the gameplay and story while fixing issues from the first entry. Batman now has some competition for GotY but gamers, gamers just win by getting Dragon Age 2. 
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Xbox 360, PS3) – Has it been ten years of waiting Capcom and Marvel? The visuals, controls and roster are all taking shape nicely and the gaming looks to be epic. 
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3, PC) – Fans of Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner will love what Deus Ex offers up with amazing visuals and hopefully amazing gameplay. 
• Bulletstorm (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – From the minds behind Gears of War. Nuff said, go check out the trailers, it’s over the top. 
• Crysis 2 (Xbox 360, PS3) – Space aliens in New York. Sounds like the perfect setting for this hotly, really hotly anticipated FPS. 
• Mindjack (Xbox 360, PS3) – Jump in and out of characters and take on live opposition. A new gaming take on The Matrix that looks intriguing. 
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC) – Not multi-platform but it will be a game known to all levels of gamers.

Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 – Exclusive are rare in this day of high development cost so let’s put it on every system game development. These four titles look to give gamers owning one system a reason to gloat.

• Killzone 3 (PS3) – PlayStation Move, please step forward into the FPS that have moved beyond being called a Halo killer (it’s not). Incredible visuals and addictive gameplay for yet another solid 2011 FPS. 
• Mass Effect 2 (PS3) – PlayStation gamers get some Mass Effect 2 love … finally. 
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) – The latest chapter in Nathan’s adventures takes games to the desert and one can only wonder how far the Blu-ray storage will be pushed by Naughty Dog this time. 
• Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360) – How much can one planet, one group of soldiers and survivors suffer? Hopefully a bit longer for gamer’s sake as the ladies join the fight in Gears 3.

Nintendo DS – A new year, a new Pokémon and what else … 

• Pokémon Black/White Version – The new entry, a must have for DS owners. 
• Kingdom Hearts Re:coded – Both the DS and PSP have been getting some great Kingdom Hearts action so get excited for Re:coded but where is the next-gen love?

PSP – The games for PSP seem to get stronger every year.

• Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! – Already out but some funny, original platforming action with the most unlikely of heroes … Prinny. 
• Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together – Tactics games are great on the go and minus the odd name the Tactics Ogre franchise is considered by many second only to Final Fantasy Tactics in its legendary goodness. 
• Ys I & II Chronicles – Yup, more Ys on PSP and this is a good thing.