Castle Crashers - 2008

COMING SOON

Bionic Commando - 1987

Our hero Super Joe has been captured by Imperial forces! Now bionic operative Radd (aka Ladd) is the only hope to infiltrate the enemy bases and save Joe. Armed with a Bionic left arm, Radd is ready to take the fight to them. Giving him the unique ability to launch a high tension cable and grappling hand. By using this he can swing, climb, and zip all around the enemy territories. Radd must face of against the Badds and there insane leader Generalissimo Killt. But the real threat is Master-D, a clone of Adolf Hitler, the product of the Albatross program.

In 1987 Bionic Commando changed the gaming scene by removing the time tested jump button with a swing mechanic. The swing, that very rudimentarily mimicked real physics, was something wholly new. Gamers now could play out not only the war combat of other games but also the fantasy of getting around like spider-man. Other innovations such as an overworld map where player could choose were to go next and special top-down viewed enemy encounters, were included as well.

The game has held up about as well as other games of this era. For the most part, today’s gamer has moved on to save or check points moving away from the trial and error approach this game offers. Again like other of its contemporaries, Bionic Commando’s mechanics are simple and shallow in today’s world and the difficulty is high and uneven. Still for those who love old school platforming, this is a unique and engaging experience.

(Avalible on the NES - Nintendo Entertainment System)

Bionic Commando Rearmed - 2008

Joseph “Super Joe” Gibson has been captured by Imperial forces! Now FSA (Federated States of America) bionic operative Nathan “RAD” Spencer is the only hope to infiltrate the enemy lines and stop the coming war. Armed with an array of guns, grenades, bazookas, Nathan has the fire power to take on the Imperial army. But the real reason he’ll be able to take down the enemy has is his Bionic left arm. Giving extra-human strength and the unique ability to launch a high tension cable and grappling hand. By using this he can swing, climb, and zip all around the enemy territories.

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20 years ago the NES and Arcades received the original Bionic Commando. At the time it was a new, fresh experience. Ditching the ubiquitous jump button of other games for a cable swinging mechanic. Now as the franchise nears a 3D relaunch, we are given a slick remake of the original.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is a great deal. Between a fully featured single player and co-op game, a series of puzzle like challenge rooms, and even a multi-player death match, this game is full of things to do. The game play is fun and engaging. Some that were raised in the post playstation days or just those with little interest in old platformers will find the simple mechanics and level design restrictive. It’s a beautiful game that shows that 2D gamming still has a place in the modern gamming environment.

(On XBox360 and PS3)

Soul Calibur IV

A tale of souls and swords eternally retold. That has been the story of the Soul Blade series since the start. But after a the single console Playstation 2 flop that was Soul Calibur III, Soul Calibur IV had to be the best in the series to bring the fans back to the golden days of Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur. Have I said Soul Calibur and numbers enough to confuse you yet. I hope so.

Soul Calibur has been a long running series since the Playstation days…yes there was a time before the PS2 for all of you young’uns out there, and the newest title brought a needed step back to its roots. Soul Calibur IV controls a lot like SCII and that is the best thing about it. Soul Calibur II, in my opinion, is the best 3D fighting game that has been released. Everything flows nicely and the hit detection is very good. They also have added a finisher move for every character. They stole the one great thing left about Mortal Kombat.

The story revolves around the would be final battle between the wielders of the Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, Nightmare and Sigfried respectively. The normal cast of characters intertwines into the story posing numerous different story threads and outcomes. The story mode itself probably could stand to be a little bit longer though. Each character plays through five stages where they fight multiple enemies and at the end, a CG cut scene wraps up the potential ending. I am kind of torn. Though for the general story, it could be longer, but as a gamer with not as much time on his hands as he once had, its kind of nice. I can play through a story in about twenty minutes and satisfy the twitch I get when I’ve neglected my 360 for a few days.

This edition also sees the inclusion of new characters and a bigger selection for the create a character. The inclusion of Hilde is a good choice. Its kind of nice not to see a woman who could actually submerge herself in water. Sigh…

For all of you Star Wars kids out there, I’m gonna need you guys to make sure that your retainers are in tight and close the bag of Doritos so they don’t spill everywhere…

I don’t think that the inclusion of Yoda, Darth Vader, and Starkiller was needed or can be justified by anyone story wise or game play wise. This was just a pathetic attempt to gain a fan base that was most likely already buying the product. Also the two character that I have been able to play, Yoda and Starkiller, are broken. Starkiller had to many unblockable moves and Yoda is about 2 feet tall thus making him impossible to hit or grab.

The online play is a much needed addition to the series. You can take either your created character or one of the many story characters. You can also start a room where the winner stays fighting until he is knocked off of his throne.

If you a big fighting game buff and you haven’t gotten this yet, for shame. For the rest of you, the game is a solid fighter that would drive the competition between any group of friends to the brink of actual fighting.

This game is rated T for Teen and is available for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Madden NFL - 2009

Today I take a look at the summer perennial that has long made the middle of the year a pit of sorrow and despair, Madden NFL 2009. Now I’m not saying that Madden is a bad franchise, its just other gaming companies do not want to go up against the juggernaut that EA Games a created, and when a company does go up against them, 2K Football, they squelch them out of existence. Over the years, EA has done everything that they can to make sure that they stay on top. Through this, they have acquired the rights to ESPN and the NFL. I see this as a bad thing. I love the competition that other NFL franchises used to produce for EA to go up against. Since taking the rights, I feel that the quality of game play has gone down. Madden NFL 2009 is an exception and a follower of the last statement.

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Madden 2009 comes to the table with over 75 new features ranging from being able to return missed field goals to the all new Madden IQ. The Madden IQ rates your overall ability how to play different aspects of the game. These include Run Offense, Run Defense, Pass Offense, and Pass Defense. Now these can be expanded on, but at base value, this is what you have to work with. The system is a very interesting step as the game does start to learn how you play and makes you learn how to play different ways other than play action, drop back, BOMB IT, and touchdown. The major problem that I have with this is that if you allow the game to customize without your own little tweaks, you end up being more frustrated than the KoZaK trying to find anywhere while driving. (He is horrible at finding any place that he has never been before. The first time he tried to come over to my house, he ended up driving twenty minutes past it and called in a panic saying, “I lost and all I can see is a big road.”) Once you do go and tweak it to what your actual challenge is, the game play is wonderful. The revamped truck and hit sticks make a big difference. In addition, the new celebration squares in the end zone are a nice touch.

With the game play being as good as it is, I would have thought that the presentation of the game would at least be as good as previous years. Though it happens often, I was still surprised to see that I was wrong. First off, the new announcers Cris Collinsworth, a former Emmy Award Winning Football Commentator, and Tom Hammond, a football commentator known for being one of the voices of the Olympics and the XFL, come off less than enthusiastic. Cris Collinsworth is flat and rarely gets excited about any play whether how big or small. At least Cris calls the game though. The majority of lines that come out of Tom Hammond’s mouth are either hyping the NFL or EA sports. This is something that I take as an insult. The players of video games came for a near real life experience out of this game. All the announcers do is drag down game play and make every game turn into one big annoying advertisement.

After that, it just turns into little gripes that are all justified, but are petty just the same. Not being able to easily discern who is next up to the fantasy draft. The only indication is a faded football symbol in the background of the draft board that is tough to spot if you are not looking for it. The next is the lack of players’ names and stats from previous seasons. The announcers rarely name anyone by name unless they are a big player. And lastly is the lack of a Player of the Game. They are all little gripes and not reasons to buy the games, but if they are so petty, why couldn’t they be put back in game like in previous years.

In the long run, Madden has the most solid game play in a football game since ESPN NFL 2K5. The issue of presentation is something that takes this game from an absolute Buy It to the normal yearly Rent It that I have given it every year since writing reviews.

Madden Nfl 2009 is available for XBOX 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, and DS. It is rated T for teen and is available in both regular and collectors editions.

River City Ransom - 1989

From the unorthodox union of Double Dragon Style beat’em ups and RPG shops and sats comes one of the most unique and downright fun games of all time. In the quaint mini metropolis of River City, the kids are not alright. It seems the local gangs have all been brought under one banner. They’ve taken control of the local High School and from there other parts of the city. But Slick, the ringleader, crosses the line when he kidnaps Cyndi, as this causes her boyfriend Ryan and his best pal Alex to step into action.

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The most unique thing about the game is how Ryan and Alex start out just barely able to hold their own but grow into gang busting machines. This done by going to the local shops scattered around town and eating food to increase stats, reading books to learn new techniques, and relaxing in a questionably run spa. You gain the money to buy all these helpful items by beating the lunch money out of the gang members running amok around the city. As you progress you’ll need to take down the leaders of the various areas and then take out Slick’s lieutenants. When you’ve trained up enough you can then go and take down the big man himself, save the city, and get the girl.

A great multiplayer game with surprising depth for an old 8-bit game, River City Ransom is game you shouldn’t pass up.
(Available on the NES, Wii Virtual Console, Rated E+10 and on the Game Boy Advanced as River City Ransom Ex, Rated Teen)