Oh sweet Zombie Jesus. Rock of the Dead, a new game being developed by Epicenter looks like a glorious mash-up between Typing of the Dead, the beloved Dreamcast typing/zombie shooter and Rock Band. Throw Neil Patrick Harris into the mix and it’s a perfect game already. No, I don’t even need to play it. In my head, right now, it is perfect. *sniff*
Image courtesy of IGN
IGN has the scoop on this one. More after the jump.
Opening Statement:
Like any gamer worth his salt (or born before the rise of New Kids on the Block, take your pick), I have a bit of a history with Super Mario. Having cut my gaming teeth on the plumber’s first three adventures, and his 16-bit debut being the first game I ever cracked wide open, dedicating myself to discovering its every secret. (more…)
Lyrics, fill in the gap -- Drop that bass and get the Ninja Rap!
The Charge:
Slice like a ninja – Cut like a razor blade!
Opening Statement:
Okay, every red-blooded kid who lived and breathed during the 1980s knows that ninjas are concentrated awesome. And I don`t mean that watered down, sugar-rush Naruto crap. I`m talking straight up, sword swingin’, star flingin’ shinobi bad-ass. Hell, even Michael Dudikoff had a cup of coffee with fame and fortune because he made a few movies concerning ninjas, and he was a total douche (my apologies to any hardcore Dudikoffers out there). I’ll usually try any video game that features Ninjas in a prominent role (usually to my regret), which led me to this day’s review. (more…)
The Charge:
“Who will win and who will lose? Keep your eyes peeled, cause we’re in for a real treat!” … or are we?
Opening Statement:
The latest iteration of the anime phenomenon is on the Wii with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Wheelie Breakers, a card battling racer that allows players to duel their way to the top of the pack and the deck.
Facts of the Case:
Based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s television show, Wheelie Breakers follows the ascent of an outsider (you) through the ranks of those who engage in “turbo dueling”—a sport in which two or more competitors race around a track on futuristic motorcycles called “Duel Runners” using spell, trap, and monster cards to slow down their opponents so they can reach the finish line first. Race well enough and you’ll face off against series hero Yusei Fudo for the title of Wheelie Breakers Champion.
The Evidence:
Wheelie Breakers is basically Mario Kart with a story. No matter how well you handle your cycle, winning depends on what items you get along the way and how you use them to demolish your opponent. The big difference is that Breakers is more card racer than kart racer. In Mario Kart, items are the same for every racer no matter when they’re used. In Wheelie Breakers, the effectiveness of the items (cards) you play depends on how well you’ve stacked your deck, which cards you’ve unlocked, and what cards your opponent has to play. Like the trading card game on which this is based, Wheelie Breakers (which comes packaged with a special three-pack of cards) has the “collect them all” spirit that enthralls kids and befuddles parents. Doing well depends on your ability to understand how and when to play items with complex rules and tongue-twisting names. Chances are, if you’re not into the card battle scene already, Wheelie Breakers won’t change your mind.
It’s no secret the hardcore Wii crowd has been itching for more serious third-party games. Ever since it was announced, Wii gamers have been holding their collective breaths, hoping that exclusive sci fi FPS The Conduit would be the system’s first real third-party hit that doesn’t have “Guitar” or “Hero” in the title, and show publishers that hardcore games really can sell on Wii. For many of those fans, the secret hope was that the game would usher in a new era of respect for their system of choice, proving once and for all that the Wii remote is the ideal console FPS control set-up.
That’s a lot of pressure, and it might be more than The Conduit can handle. The game hits most retail shelves today, a release preceded by a firestorm of angry messageboard posts by Nintendo fanboys expressing their outrage over a certain outlet’s less-than-glowing review. But do their complaints have merit? Is this the most important thing happening in the world today, or simply a tempest in an e-kettle?
(Why is this “first impressions” of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii and not a review? Because this is a massive game and I’ve barely scratched the surface.)
Tiger Woods 10 is the latest in EA Sports’ yearly refresh of perhaps the most unfairly maligned professional sport. As much as people like to complain about golf on television, though, they seem to love playing it. With the addition of support for the new Wii Motion Plus peripheral, Tiger Woods gives those of us who don’t particularly care for fresh air and walking slowly the chance to hit the links in the most realistic video game golf experience yet.
The last golf game I bought was Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, used, for a few bucks, a good five years after it came out. The last actual game of golf I played was a couple of summers back at a local backwoods course with my wife’s father and my brother-in-law. I enjoy golf, but I’m not all that into it. I’m also not all that good at it—something the new Tiger Woods game was more than happy to point out when I chose to use the “Advanced” Motion Plus control options.
I don’t know what “Diva Girls” are but as long as they’re not as whorish as the Bratz, then I’m willing to give them a fair shake. If you’re a Wii and/or DS owner and have long thought that your life has thus far been a sad, incomplete batch of misery and discontentment without the presence of an adolescent-girl-ice-skating sim, then buck up champ, your time has come!
Diva Girls: Divas on Ice will triple Lutz into your hearts on June 16. Pulse-quickening screens after the jump.
I watched them so you didn’t have to:
