Pads & Panels

Title: Lost Planet 2

Platform: 360 (PS3)

ESRB: T

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Apparently Capcom and producer Jun Takeuchi have learned nothing, absolutely nothing, from the mistakes of Resident Evil 5, because Lost Planet 2 follows almost directly in its footsteps. Its cutscenes are directed with the same graphical style and cheesy dialogue as RE5, the series has gotten bigger and gone co-op, and, most unfortunately, is riddled with horrible interface and design issues. The third-person shooting action still involves traversing the sometimes snow-washed, sometimes lush planet of E.D.N. III, activating nodes by pumping the same button, and constantly shooting at glowing orange weak spots on enemies. This time up to four friends can suffer the campaign together online, or two on the same console with a horrible split-screen option. AI teammates are also an option, but despite being in cutscenes, they more often than not opt out of appearing in the actual missions. The real killer of the fun, though? Episodes are divided into chapters, which are divided into areas. Each area ends with a “Mission Completed” screen and stats, but if players die in the final area against a boss, they are set back to the first area in the chapter, negating as much as an hour’s worth of work. It only makes sense because a “Battle Gauge” carries over between levels, but then why does it do the same thing if players decide to call it a day mid-chapter? (more…)

Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer Impressions (360)

By Kevin Haverty

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Saddling up for the multiplayer of Red Dead Redemption, the biggest difference from other online experiences is the absence of a lobby. After picking “Multiplayer” from the menu, gamers are thrust into a free roam of the open game world with up to 16 other players. This is a great tool for getting players right into the action.

Once in the open world, there are a handful of things to do – discovering gang hideouts and flushing them out, shooting waves of dangerous game or going out Bonnie and Clyde style against the lawmen to earn XP. Earning XP levels up the character and unlocks titles, character models and mounts that can range from donkeys to bison. Instead of forming a party, RDR features the ability to join a posse of up to 8 players to tackle the aforementioned events, as well as other Player vs. Player modes. (more…)

Title: Split/Second

Platform: 360 (PS3, PC)

ESRB: E10+

Publisher: Disney Interactive

Developer: Black Rock Studio

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Split/Second is another one of those games, much like the Burnout series, a racer that appeals to the crowd that doesn’t like traditional racing games. There’s no modding of brake tension or tweaking of horsepower necessary. Split/Second doesn’t even feature real life automobiles. But they sure look badass, the race tracks are solid, and ultimately Split/Second is about driving really fast, spectacular crashes and destruction so massive it actually alters the courses. (more…)

Title: “Demons of the Badlands” DLC for Red Faction: Guerrilla

Platform: 360 (Also PS3)

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Volition

Review by: Kevin Haverty

“Demon of the Badlands” is the first of three scheduled DLC releases for Red Faction: Guerrilla. It focuses on the single-player mode, in which gamers play as Sam as she fights for the Marauders before the events of Red Faction: Guerrilla. It takes place in Mariner Valley, a new location, which is isolated from the other areas. (more…)

Title: Guitar Hero 5

Platforms: 360 (Also PS3, Wii, PS2)

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Neversoft

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Since Guitar Hero went full band with Guitar Hero: World Tour, the series has been coasting on spinoff titles. Guitar Hero: Metallica actually kicked things into high gear, marking a high point in the entire series, while Guitar Hero: Smash Hits felt more like a rehash of World Tour, recycling old songs with a format that still carried with it many of the problems of the series.

Guitar Hero 5 is the next numbered title, which usually signifies a bigger leap for the series. And while GH5 does bring with it the most changes the series has seen since World Tour, most don’t majorly change the way gamers play the instrument-peripheral rhythm game, and the series finds itself falling back on old bad habits again. (more…)

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Hi, everyone! My name is Jason King, and I’ll be doing some reviews for you. I currently teach math and geography at a community college. It is wonderful being around students; they have wonderful ideas for new games that sometimes fall off my radar.

I’ve been playing video games since I was about 5, and reading comic books since I was in my teens. Playing Sid Meier’s Civilization I inspired me to get a degree in history and, for awhile, I taught high school history. I don’t know what inspired me to teach math, but I don’t think Puzzle Quest hurt! (more…)

Title: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

MPAA: PG-13

Directed by: Mike Newell

Written by: Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard

Producer: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

To say video games in cinema have had a tumultuous past would be an understatement. There arguably hasn’t been a single good English-language adaptation of the medium (aside from fan made gems like Mega Man). While comic fans have had their medium validated in Hollywood by the likes of Spider-Man, X2 and The Dark Knight, gaming fans are still waiting for their equivalent.

At this point, we’d probably even accept something along the quality lines of the Ang Lee Hulk, or even Fantastic Four, anything to get video game movies out of this rut. Instead, we’ve suffered through the laughably bad likes of Street Fighter and Hitman, as well as failed big budget attempts with Max Payne, Doom and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

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Enter Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It’s a Jerry Bruckheimer production, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the terribly named Dastan, aka the Prince of Persia. At the helm is Mike Newell, who has one Harry Potter film (Goblet of Fire) and the critically acclaimed Donnie Brasco, among others, to his name in the last decade. It also comes under the Walt Disney banner, the company no doubt looking for the next swashbuckling franchise to take up the mantle of Pirates of the Caribbean.

And considering all of these elements, Prince of Persia was poised to be just that, and possibly redeem the name of video game cinema in the process. At the very least, one could expect the Bruckheimer production to be loaded with bombastic action, dramatic acting and great special effects. Sure, a handful of cheesy one-liners – every 10 minutes – but an entertaining popcorn flick no less. Make no mistake – Prince of Persia is probably the best video game film adaptation ever made, but really, considering the competition, what is that saying? (more…)

Title: Dark Avengers: Ares

Publisher: Marvel

Writers: Michael Avon Oeming, Kieron Gillen

Artists: Travel Foreman, Manuel Garcia

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

As a fan of Greek mythology, I was interested to see in what direction Dark Avengers: Ares was going to be headed. Thankfully, it headed in a more mythologically-themed direction…at least for the first half of the book. Dark Avengers: Ares is actually two separate stories featuring the original God of War, Ares. The Michael Avon Oeming-penned story, “Ares: God of War,” weaves a fantastic tale of a god who moved on, trying to survive in today’s times, only to get pulled back into action. The second story, after which the book is named, deals with Ares training a group of elite soldiers, the Shades, at the request of Norman Osborn, leader of the Dark Avengers. While both tales are full of epic action, the second tale doesn’t carry nearly the amount of emotional weight as Oeming’s story. He creates a tale that is able to actually redeem Ares for his violent past, whereas Gillen portrays a man who places bloodshed second only to his survival. (more…)

Title: Data East Arcade Classics

Platform: Wii

ESRB: T

Publisher: Majesco Entertainment

Developer: G1M2

Rating:

Review by: Jason King

A good classic games package should play like an old arcade. There should be variety in the gameplay (but maybe not too much), a sense of nostalgia or history, and entertainment value. Data East Arcade Classics by Majesco (Data East folded in 2003) offers much of this for a bargain price – with a few minor gripes. (more…)

Title: Sonic Classic Collection

Platform: DS

ESRB: E

Publisher: Sega

Developer: The Creative Assembly

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Despite being available on just about every major console, the original four Sonic the Hedgehog games have yet to be released properly on a handheld. Sure, there was the much maligned Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis on Game Boy Advance, but that was so riddled with bugs and other problems that it was pointless. That being said, the Sonic Classic Collection does a good job of bringing the series to the Nintendo DS. Taking the original four games from Sega Genesis (Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Sonic & Knuckles), the ports are pretty good, even if there are some slight flaws here and there. Most of these flaws are basically ticks in the pixels, but that could merely just be the emulation of the original ROMS, which remain untouched here. The collection also features the Lock-On modes, in which Sonic 2 and 3 can be played with Knuckles, without having to be unlocked first, like in past versions. For what it’s worth, this is a good collection for the on-the-go gamer needing a Sonic fix. (more…)