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Review: Kid Icarus Uprising
Posted by Mike Yawney on March 27th, 2012 View Comments
It’s clear Nintendo is proud of the Kid Icarus franchise. Sure, one could argue Nintendo dragged it’s feet taking more than 20 years to bring the angelic hero Pit back to life, but one look at his latest title and you’ll see just how much time and effort went into this latest production. Kid Icarus: Uprising shows just what the Nintendo 3DS is capable of while at the same time revealing the system’s Achilles heal.
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Review: Apple’s New iPad
Posted by Mike Yawney on March 14th, 2012 View Comments
If you own any Apple product you know the feeling; that feeling you get as you plunk down your hard-earned cash knowing in about one year’s time a newer, shiner model will hit stores shelves and you will be faced with a dilemma. Should you upgrade to the latest model? That’s the question many iPad owners are now faced with as Apple prepares to launch its latest iPad.
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Review: I Am Alive
Posted by Mike Yawney on March 12th, 2012 View CommentsYou’re in an alley facing three armed men looking for blood. In your hands is a knife, a gun and one bullet. What do you do? Do you slash the first thug, quickly shoot the second and then hope the third gets scared and begs for mercy? Do you shoot the first, make your way to the second thug with your gun still raised, stab him and then slash the third in the throat? Or do you simply put your hands up and tell them you’re not looking for trouble and hope they don’t attack? Those are the decisions you are forced to make in I Am Alive, a game where every split decision can affect your chances at survival.
A worldwide cataclysmic event has changed the landscape of Earth as we know it. Buildings lie in ruin, tremors still shake the ground and a thick layer of toxic dust and ash lingers in the air. You were away from home when the event struck, now one year later you’ve finally made it back to the city to search for your wife and daughter. Okay, its not the most original storyline, but that’s not what gamers will remember this game for.
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Review: Syndicate
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 27th, 2012 View Comments
It’s always a risky venture resurrecting a classic franchise. Sometimes it works and sometimes the risk simply doesn’t pay off. Syndicate falls somewhere in between.
Based on the 1993 strategy game of the same name, Starbreeze Studios’ Syndicate is an attempt to breath new life and features into a game which has built a fanbase over the years. I’m not sure I would call Syndicate a reboot to the classic franchise, rather a re-imagining.
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Review: PS Vita
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 26th, 2012 View Comments
While Sony has seen some success in the portable gaming market, it has always struggled to compete against Nintendo. With a solid fan base since the launch of the original Game Boy, Nintendo has always had a solid lead over Sony and their efforts in portable gaming. Could the introduction of the PS Vita be the turning point?
Sony is aiming to take portable gaming to the next level with its next-gen machine. With impressive specs and the addition of a second analog controller, Sony is clearly targeting hardcore gamers with the Vita. But are there enough features for gamers to buy another full-fledged gaming device?
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Review: Resident Evil Revelations
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 22nd, 2012 View Comments
At its very core Resident Evil has always been known as a survival horror franchise. The series became famous for its eerie environments and cheap scares, which can be hard to pull off in a video game. But lately the very features that made the franchise popular have become watered down. Residents Evil 5 was more of a fast-paced action title and one could say Resident Evil Revelations focuses more on survival rather than horror.
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Review: Twisted Metal (2012)
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 20th, 2012 View Comments
It’s been 10 years since we last laid hands on a Twisted Metal title. Now Playstation’s longest running franchise is finally back, this time on the PS3.
More than 16 million copies of Twisted Metal games have sold over the years. It has a huge fan following, one of the reason’s creator director David Jaffe admitted to us last summer that he was a little worried about how fans would react to an updated version of the classic vehicular combat title. After completing it we can say Jaffe’s fears were legitimate. Most fans will just be happy to be reunited with Sweet Tooth and the gang but some will expect more from this long-awaited title.
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Review: Samsung Galaxy Note
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 12th, 2012 View Comments
What is the ideal size for a tablet or smartphone? That’s the question manufacturers are asking themselves as they try and find that sweet spot for consumers. Do customers want something small enough to fit into a pocket or would they rather opt for more real estate with a larger screen.
Samsung was one of the first to break away from the pack, experimenting with different screen sizes with the launch of the Galaxy Tab a few years ago. It was the first tablet which didn’t fall into Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad footprint. Now Samsung is trying something new again, this time introducing a smartphone larger than most are used to.
At first glance one could say the Samsung Galaxy Note has a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a smartphone or a tablet. The 5.3-inch screen makes it look like a shrunken tablet but make no mistake about it, Samsung defines the Galaxy Note as a smartphone.
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Review: Puddle
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 12th, 2012 View Comments
The Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN are quickly becoming my ‘go to’ place to find the little gems of the gaming world. Independent game developers are proving you don’t need to spend millions of dollars to come up with an interesting, fun concept for games. Take Puddle for instance. Two years ago six French students entered their simple physics puzzle game into GDC’s Independent Game Festival. It took home top prize in the Student Showcase category. Now Konami is bringing this addictive physics platformer to home consoles.
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Review: NeverDead
Posted by Mike Yawney on February 10th, 2012 View Comments
At what point in a game’s development phase is it too late to go back and fix things? If something takes away from the game’s enjoyment is it worth delaying the release to ensure gameplay is solid? Those are the two questions I continually asked myself as I played through Konami’s latest release NeverDead.
At the the heart of it NeverDead has serious potential; just consider the premise. The main hero is a demon which can’t be killed. No matter how many times he is hit he refuses to die, he simply loses limb after limb until he’s literally a rolling head. In fact, you can even use your limbs as weapons to kill other demons. In theory it sounds pretty awesome, but the game’s fun factor is crippled by a basic building block of any game. Controls.
