Pads & Panels

Title: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Platform: PS3 (360, PC)

ESRB: M

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA DICE

Rating:

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Throughout film and ultimately gaming history, it seems like the Russians have always been getting the shaft. No matter what the plot, it’s a safe bet that if the film or movie has some sort of terrorist plot, the Russians are somehow masterminding it. And even more stereotypically, it seems like nine times out of ten their henchmen are either of South American or Middle Eastern descent.

Things don’t change this paradigm in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. However, EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE for short) really fine-tuned things, set their sights on that other present day FPS, Modern Warfare, and in the process created a game can give that competition a run for its money. (more…)

Title: Mega Man 10

Platform: PSN (XBLA, WiiWare)

ESRB: E

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Inti Creates

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Fans of the Blue Bomber know exactly what to expect with the 10th entry in the Mega Man series. After the 2008 release of Mega Man 9, a surprise downloadable hit that made a return to the beloved 8-bit style of the classic first six games in the series, it was nice to see a sequel, but how does it fare when compared to the other games?

In my opinion, there have always been two types of Mega Man games. There are the groundbreaking games (1-4, 9), the ones that really make the player want to return for more, and there are the ones that feel as though the developers were only going through the motions (5-8). At some points, Mega Man 10 feels like one of these latter games. (more…)

Let me lay down a precursor this whole pondering: I like the Sony PlayStation brand. Since the original PlayStation, to the PS2, PSP, PS3, and PSPGo, I have supported the brand with my interest and my wallet. That said, the most recent news of the PlayStation Move has led me to a few thoughts that I hope you’ll read.

It’s very simple for the general internet population to either support or bitch about the PlayStation Move. With all the coverage that the announcement had at GDC 2010, including hands-on, video that wasn’t allowed, and opinions, the PlayStation Move has once again caused fan boys and haters to take their respective sides about the new product months before its release. (more…)

We love games, and we love writing about them here at Pads & Panels. We love it so much that no matter how much we get up on the site here, it’s never enough to quench the thirst of gaming journalism for some. That’s why our latest segment of Pads Around the Internet sees even more great articles published at other sites by our writers. Here’s the best of what’s related to Pads & Panels’ interests.

Bill Jones

The Weirdest Things in Video Game Hell

iPhone Game Pricing

Age of Zombies Review

Chris Park

Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Review

Metal Slug XX Review

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International Review

Title: Scene it? Twilight

Platform: DS (Wii)

ESRB: T

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Screenlife

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Kumley

Playing this game has made me frighteningly aware that I might know too much about the Twilight movie. As with other Scene It games, the Twilight edition asks trivia questions about the movie that range from pretty obvious to obscure little details. In single player mode, the player goes through three rounds and a “Twilightning Round” at the end. A “Pass n Play” mode is also available to let up to four people play, and lets players chose to play between one and six rounds, and whether or not to include the Twilightning Round at the end of the game. Questions are presented in several formats, such as multiple-choice sections, deciphering a fuzzy image, determining what’s missing from a screenshot, movie clips followed by questions and others. In the Pass n Play mode, the questions asked are the same for all players to even the difficulty. (more…)

Title: Bezzerwizzer

Publisher: Mattel

Players: 2+ (2-4 Teams)

Ages: Adult

Time Per Game: 45 Minutes

MSRP: $29.99

Description

Bezzerwizzer sounds like something a drunken friend might say, but it’s actually Danish for “know-it-all.” This makes a little more sense, and sheds some light on the creation of Danish trivia game buff Jesper Bülow, whose game was brought to the United States by Mattel.

Like many trivia games, Bezzerwizzer allow players to fend for themselves or form 2 to 4 teams, answer trivia questions and progress around a board by getting the answers right to win. Bezzerwizzer divides its questions into 20 categories, but the twist on its Trivial Pursuit gameplay is that no dice are involved. Players randomly pull four category tiles from a bag before each round, and then some strategy comes into play. (more…)

Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender

Interview with: Onrie Kompan

Interview by: Chris Park

West Coast correspondent Chris Park found himself interested in the subject matter of Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender, with Issue #1 of Onrie Kompan’s new comic series, which tells the tale of the Korean admiral in his first bombastic naval battle. He was a little hesitant, though, about the introduction of the character, and had questions about what directions the historical fiction series would take. So Park exchanged emails with Kompan last week to discuss his new series. (more…)

Title: Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War Issue #1

Publisher: Dark Horse

Writer: Randy Stradley

Artist: Rick Leonardi

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Aliens vs. Predator starts a new chapter in the long running series, in the form of Three World War. With the original team of Randy Stradley and Rick Leonardi in tow for this story, this could possibly be something interesting to look out for in the future, but only time will tell. The comic dishes out a lot of back story, but it is necessary in order to get newer readers up to speed.

Opening up with an attack on civilian miners on the planet Caparis VII, waged by Predators with Aliens under their control, it’s not hard to see that something new is happening and war is bound to break out. After the attack, it cuts to planet Bellatrix 1, where the Colonial Marines step in and try to enlist the help of a hard-boiled woman named Machiko Noguchi. Noguchi is the star of the original series, who befriended the Predators and knows much of their ways. (more…)

Title: Family Guy: Something, Something Darkside

Format: Blu-ray

Created by: Seth MacFarlane

Producer: 20th Century Fox

Feature Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

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The Film

Most fans are probably familiar with the on-again off-again rescheduling history of Family Guy on Fox. The discerning fans of that group are probably even more familiar with the diminishing returns of the series over the course of these changes, even while Seth MacFarlane has practically taken over all of the programming of Fox’s prime time schedule.

Something, Something Darkside marks the second of a planned trilogy of Star Wars parodies courtesy of Family Guy. Like Blue Harvest, Darkside starts with power in the Griffin household cut once again. It forces the family to gather in the living room, and Peter tells his version of the ongoing Star Wars saga, this time based on The Empire Strikes Back. (more…)

Title: Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic

Format: Blu-ray

Directed by: Victor Cook, Mike Disa, Sang-Jin Kim, Shuko Murase, Jong-Sik Nam, Lee Seung-Gyu

Writer: Brandon Auman

Producers: Starz Media, Anchor Bay, Electronic Arts

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

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The Film

Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic is billed as the feature-length animated counterpart to Electronic Arts’ video game Dante’s Inferno. As such, it is based more on the plot of the game, rather than the epic poem by Dante Alighieri. Both follow Dante through the nine circles of hell, with assistance from the poet Virgil. But the Dante’s Inferno video game adds to that the story of Beatrice, the wife of Dante, who is taken by Lucifer after Dante mindlessly followed the church on a quest full of sin. He also encounters his own family in the Inferno. In the Divine Comedy, Virgil guided Dante through Hell and Purgatory, and Beatrice came into play as a guide in Heaven. (more…)