Batman: Arkham City Trailer w/ Joker & Harley

I am so excited for this game. October 18th can't come soon enough.



Though there is sadness here as this will be Mark Hamill's last go around as The Joker. A legendary voice that will be missed.

Ni No Kuni Looks Stunning. And it is coming to North America.

I'm sold on this game just on the basis of the cel-shading used to make it look exactly like a Studio Ghibli feature, which is good as Studio Ghibli has a hand in it. One of my biggest disappointments with the PS3 has been the relative lack of truly gorgeous games with non-realistic art-styles and this is a breath of fresh air for me. Using the power of these systems to make just realistic looking games is a waste.

Top 5 of the 1st Half and Top 5 Most Wanted For the Second Half of 2011

Can you believe that we are already more than half-way through the year? Though with the Wii sucking wind (thanks to Nintendo apparently not interested in delivering games the core would like) it was relatively boring one for me. Mostly marked with buying used games and some previous year releases. I did manage to sneak in some 2011 releases though and here is how I'd rank them:

Top 5 of the First Half of 2011

1. Portal 2 - PS3

This game is incredible. If you've played it, you'd know that. Taking the simple, yet refined mechanics of the first and expanding it greatly, not only in terms of gameplay but also in story. Not only do you get an incredible single player but also an amazing co-op mode that does more than just be an add-on but its own story in its own right. Remember if you don't play this, Cave Johnson is going to burn your house down, with the lemon!

2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 3DS

A remake of my favorite game of all time? That is a no brainer for me. This remake improves quite a bit, mostly graphically. Link has more animation, the world is more detailed, etc. Also moving the menus to the touch screen makes the thing that so many players hated, doing the iron boots in the water temple. Plus the ability to take OoT on the road with me is awesome.

3. de Blob 2 - Wii

And here what I believe to be the best game on the Wii this year. Sigh. Don't get me wrong, de Blob 2 is a great game. The review I posted said as much. It expands on a lot of what made de Blob great and improves on what was wrong.

4. Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition - 3DS

The 3rd of now 4 versions of Street Fighter IV is a great port from the PS3/360 versions. It is in the vein of the ports to the SNES for Street Fighter II. Gives you everything you love about the console version without having to pay for the DLC. Can't go wrong with that.

5. Radiant Historia - DS

While I am not very far into this game I am loving the use of the time travel aspects of using the Historia and opening up many different plot lines and scenarios. And with a pretty fun battle system I'll certainly enjoy this even more as I go.


Top 5 Most Wanted for the Second Half of 2011

1. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Wii

The wait for this has been a long one, 5 years since the last console version actually. With a great mix of TWW and Twilight Princess' art-style and hopefully some fun new gameplay aspects with Wii Motion+ this could very well be the game that beats out Portal 2 for my favorite of the year.

2. Batman: Arkham City - PS3

Arkham Asylum was a fantastic take on Batman and is arguably the greatest super-hero video game of all. It just nailed how Batman truly operates in the shadows to take out thugs and the relative brutal efficiency of his fighting technique. Arkham City promises to expand on it with a larger environment and more villains showing up.

3. Team Ico Collection - PS3

If you hadn't noticed, I just posted a pair of trailers for this game. Improves to HD will hopefully just make these fantastic games even better and make the wait for The Last Guardian a little easier, or harder. Hard to say.

4. Kirby - Wii

A Kirby platformer with some of the ideas of New Super Mario Bros. Wii of 4 player co-op? Count me in. Kirby games are always a ton of fun and will help ease some of the pain this year.

5. Star Fox 64 3D - 3DS

Another remake of a classic but much like OoT3D getting to take this on the road will be a huge plus especially that the game feels suited to handheld experiences. Plus we get to be annoyed by Slippy all over again. Yay?

There are other games that I wanted but these are the ones with the definite release dates. Mario Kart, Super Mario, Paper Mario, MGS3, etc all look great but I'm not sure if they'll all make it out this year. If they do, wow that will be a lot of stuff.

Trailers: Ico and Shadows of the Colossus HD

Ico and Shadows of the Colossus rank as 2 of the top 3 games I played for the PS2 and we are lucky to get them in one collection. Japan is getting kinda hosed on that deal though they do get the benefit of full boxart.





The collection is due to be released September 27th. I am excited. If you have a PS3 and have never played these gems, I implore you to buy the collection. Otherwise you'll make me sad and you don't want me sad, do you? And then go buy The Last Guardian whenever that is due to be released.

What I Am Looking Forward to From E3

Admittedly I don't get too excited about E3, most of the stuff that is shown is usually a year or so away but there are always a few things to get eager about prior and I thought I'd make a list of the 5 things I'm very eager to see more of this year.

5 Things I Want to See At E3

- Upcoming 3DS games both carts and downloads

With the 3DS Virtual Console and Ware service due to come online this week (I believe), we could see the 3DS start shifting into gear as far as games goes as the system so far has started slowly. Not only that I want to see more information on new games that like Paper Mario 3D as well as brand new titles. We'll probably see more of Star Fox and Metal Gear Solid 3DS.

- Project Cafe

Despite posting that speculative spec sheet I'm taking everything with a grain of salt until we actually get to see the thing. It'll be interesting to see what is true and what is false and hopefully Nintendo can give us something we can all love.

- Skyward Sword details

I must know when this game is going to be released. The wait is killing me.

- The Last Guardian and Ico/SotC HD info

I'm a big Team ICO fan and their follow up to Shadow of the Colossus has me itching to get to play it. But information has been sparse, especially release details. I was hoping that by now the Ico/SotC HD Collection would already be out but that was also indefinitely delayed. Sure I have both on the PS2 but playing them up scaled will be fantastic.

- American releases for The Last Story and Xenoblade

The one thing that has really frustrated me and Nintendo fans is NoA's apparent lack of interest in at least bringing over games that the, for the lack of a better word, hardcore fans would appreciate. With the Wii obviously on its last legs having these two games and Skyward Sword would make the death at least a graceful one.

Gaming on a Budget: 3D Dot Game Heroes & Muramasa: The Demon Blade

3D Dot Game Heroes
Price New: $15.03

Yes I know I already covered the Atlus sale from 2 weeks back but these two games feature fairly atypical graphical styles and are just plain fun games. Get 3D Dot Game Heroes if you are interested in a classic Zelda style game with 3D retro graphics with plenty of in-jokes for those in the know. Get Muramasa if you just like a good hack 'n' slash with RPG elements and a hand-drawn art style that is a increasingly rare thing nowadays.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Price New: $12.83

And a bonus new game:

Portal 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Price New: $34.99 (PS3/360), $29.99 (PC)

I can't recommend this game enough. Portal 2 expands on everything the first Portal offered and makes them better. Not only that is hilarious. And us PS3/PC folks can play it cross platform which is pretty damned neat. I don't know how long this particular sale will last so get it now.

Thursday Trailer: Sonic - 20th Anniversary Title

Today's trailer is a teaser for a new Sonic game that is due to come out this year. You see Sonic speeding across this strange land with what seems to be remnants of the past games in the series, and then... original sonic shows up? That's weird, but cool! It seems this game will only be coming out for Xbox 360 and PS3 as of right now.

Gaming on a Budget: Fragile Dreams & Eternal Sonata

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Price New: $18.99

This is a game I've been wanting to try for a while now. From what I hear, it's a bit of a survival horror, but very unique. There's a lot of exploration as well. I may try to get this game myself in the near future.

Eternal Sonata (360)

Eternal Sonata (PS3)

Price New (360): $13.92

Price New (PS3): $16.99

If you can get past the unskippable cutscenes in this, I've heard that this is can be a pretty lengthy, and high-quality JRPG. 

Thursday Trailer: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

This game was announced a few days ago, and some fans seem to be a bit skeptical, because it seems to be  some sort of squad-based, co-operative shooter, taking place in Raccoon City. I don't know what they're so skeptical about, seems like a cool idea to me, just as long as I get to play as Leon. By the way, did anyone notice the really big dude around 0:40? Could that be Mr. X or Nemesis?

Review: NBA Jam (2010)

Review based off PS3 version.

NBA Jam is one of those titles that if you are like me hold many fond memories. When NBA Jam came out in 1993 it was an revelation of a game. There were some arcade sports games around but as far as I can remember none had real players and real teams featured. NBA Jam did and revolutionized arcade-style sports games and created a new sub-genre that would last through the mid-90s. And while the console ports at the time weren't able to replicate the experience they still brought the same fast-paced style that made the game so fun to play.

Unfortunately as the franchise went on, in an attempt stay relevant, Acclaim would over complicate the formula that worked so well until 2003 when we all thought that NBA Jam was dead and buried. But along came EA after buying assets of the now defunct Acclaim and they decided to bring back NBA Jam and bring back what made the franchise so great: Simple, fast and satisfying.

The reboot of NBA Jam feels very close to what the arcade original did. We are back to 2 on 2 no holds barred basketball with massive slam dunks, lots of pushing and shoving, going on fire and a very fast pace. If you've played a classic NBA Jam you'll feel right at home with this game and it shouldn't take you more than a few quarters to get a feel for it. Of course there are some new wrinkles thrown in, like the cross overs and spins but when you break it down it is purely classic NBA Jam. There is a remix mode but as of this review I haven't really delved to deeply into it, preferring the classic style gameplay over the new stuff but the game has a lot of modes, a remix campaign mode, remix mode with more mini-game type rules, a boss battle mode and of course online mode (in the 360 and PS3 versions).

It isn't perfect though. For one, much like the old games, the computer AI tends to be really cheap, especially in the 2nd half. Even on easy the CPU will be all over you hitting shots and make defensive plays that seem unfair. You better have a fairly sizable lead or be very good on the higher difficulties or the CPU will come back and beat you if you get sloppy. You partner AI can be a bit up and down to, since the game doesn't allow you to turn off CPU assist, you have to hope your AI can hold up its part of the bargain because if it doesn't you'll hurt. It is overall capable and will be helpful to you if you want to win but in the 2nd half sometimes he will just go on vacation it seems, especially on defense.

Another thing the game really covers is the franchise's penchant for secret players and teams. You get a typical assortment of NBA legends (Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird), mascot players and special teams, including the Beastie Boys, Democrats, Republicans and the announce team. The variety is rather cool though some of the secret players seem a little forced just because they had to give all the teams a "legend". I mean really, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves for the Memphis Grizzlies? Also I as a Bulls fan love the addition of Scottie and Dennis Rodman to the Bulls team but I must once again ask, where is Michael Jordan? Seriously, is there any franchise that wasn't almost made in the image of Jordan's early career exploits?

Graphically the game retains the fairly simple clean look of the old games. Instead of overcomplicated player models there are only two or three models that all move very well but are otherwise generic sans skin colors and uniform design. What really makes the models cool are their heads. Instead of 3D model they use actual photos of the players making various facial expressions. It both hilarious and awesome and does a great job of drawing you into the game. The arenas while nothing special look good for the most part. Unfortunately though the care put into the player models is not used in the spectators. Most of them are 2D with a few frames of animation and is really kind of boring to look at, which shouldn't matter too much since you shouldn't be focusing on them anyways.

The music in this game isn't as classic as the stuff from the original. A little too hip-hop for my tastes but overall not to bad. The little extra music that plays when you are on fire was a nice touch. What they did get really right is bringing back the original play-by-play announcer, Tom Kitzrow. His addition really adds to the game's classic atmosphere and while his calls can get repetitive and tiresome at times, there are few lines as awesome as hearing Tim call out "BOOM SHAKALAKA" on a massive dunk or saying "HE'S ON FIRE" when you are on fire. The on court sound effects have some oomph to them but you don't feel nearly as big as they should be but maybe it just me.

In the end though, NBA Jam is a faithful update to the classic original game. If sims aren't your thing but you still love yourself a little basketball you can't go wrong with this game.

Pros/Cons
+ Great revival of the arcade classic with a lot extra modes if you are also looking for something new
+ Nice clean graphics with heads being really fun
+ Lots of secrets to unlock
+ Tim Kitzrow's classic announcing
- Some of the hidden players leave a bit to be desired
- AI can be cheap and unbalanced even on easiest setting
- Really wish Michael Jordan could have been in it

Gaming on a Budget: A Boy and His Blob & LittleBigPlanet

A Boy and His Blob

Price New: $13.90

A very beautifully designed game with a cutesy look. Any game that has a 'hug' button has to be good, right? If you're a fan of puzzle platformers, I'd suggest getting this.

LittleBigPlanet - Game of the Year Edition

Price New: $22.99

Don't have enough to get LittleBigPlanet 2 yet, but haven't played the first? Well, this edition comes with all of the DLC released for the first, and you can get your feet wet with the first level designer rather than plunging right into the massive scope of LBP 2.