Reviews & Articles

I love Penny Arcade. I remember years ago when Official PlayStation Magazine was still alive and printed a Penny Arcade comic each month. I still get a kick out of remembering the writers’ comments about Ico. Mainly because it’s true. At the same time, what makes Penny Arcade difficult to read is that it quickly rotates through bathroom humor, slapstick and college humor. I believe this makes the commentary more visceral. So imagine my delight when I finally got my hands on Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One.

Games and music aren’t always mediums that complement one another. Although, think about the song “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas. Go ahead and dance for a moment. The song, like the game Mini Ninjas, is funky, fun and a tad goofy. I’ve also decided to put “Kung Fu Fighting” on repeat while I write this since the game and song work well together.

You should play Twin Blades: The Reaping Vanguard because sometimes there is nothing else to do except mindlessly slash through zombies.

Have you ever heard of Zeno Clash? You probably have since it’s considered to be one of the indie gaming community’s darlings. It garnered attention thanks to its surreal story and visuals. And thanks to Atlus, Zeno Clash soon will be available via Xbox Live Arcade. Aram Jabbari was kind enough to show us some snippets of Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition.

I discovered Magic: The Gathering — Duels of the Planeswalkers for Xbox Live Arcade while looking for a traditional card game. I downloaded the demo, and I was immediately struck by the artistry of the game board and the simplicity of the user interface. The interface is ornate and magnificent looking, and it complements the artwork featured on the cards. The game’s graphics were amazingly impressive for a card game; I purchased the full game the same day I downloaded the demo. I learned the game by following the brief tutorial. It familiarizes players with the basic gameplay rules and controls. I highly recommend everyone who gets this game play the tutorial.

Capcom was one of the few software companies at the Consumer Electronics Show, and I got to see quite a few of its games, including Mega Man 10, Final Fight Double Impact, Super Street Fighter 4, Lost Planet 2, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Monster Hunter Tri. For more information about Capcom games, visit www.capcom.com/us/.

When it comes to representing World War II in videogames, there’s practically a whole smorgasbord of games from which to choose. From shooters to flight simulators, now comes a two-player card game starting with the Invasion of Normandy through to the war’s end.

I’ll admit that card games usually aren’t my bag, but I was pleased to find that Panzer General: Allied Assault feels much like turn-based strategy games that I know and love, like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem. Playing as the U.S. forces, you begin the campaign mode with a deck of cards representing troops, tanks, Howitzers and cards granting special abilities (like calling in an air strike). You square off against German forces that have an army every bit as strong as yours.

I don’t mind the occasional casual game here and there. Sometimes, I just need to relax and cool off from mashing combos or firing headshots. And what better way to cool off than guiding some water through pipes? Droplitz proves itself to be quite refreshing in more ways than one.

Rock Man, The Blue Bomber, Super Fighting Robot ... Mega Man has gone through the ringer when it comes to nicknames — and rightfully so, as he has had a rather extensive career stretching back all the way to the original Nintendo. Capcom loves a franchise, and were it not for Ryu and Ken, Mega Man might be its favorite child. Having starred in several game series, Mega Man hit a bump just like Sonic did in the late 1990s, as the transition to 3-D seemed difficult for the young android. The only way the series seemed to persevere is by holding him in the 2-D realm. After a few hits and many misses, Mega Man is put into the most comfortable environment he knows — the one that blasted him into stardom — and directly returns to his roots with Mega Man 9, the latest installment in the original Mega Man series.

I hate Tetris. There. I said it. And every ounce of that statement is true. I do not understand how arranging blocks of four is fun. It quickly becomes boring to me. After five minutes, I fall asleep. However, I have been playing a new puzzle game lately that doesn’t bore me at all: Droplitz.

I’ve often found in my experiences with puzzle games that they tend to be either simple and cute or so complex that they leave your brain screaming for mercy as you try to solve that last puzzle. Braid turned out to be neither, instead deciding to subtly redefine how platform games such as the original Super Mario Brothers can be designed. The game follows Tim, the protagonist who must run, jump and avoid monsters all to save the Princess he adores. Oh, did I mention he can also rewind time?

No matter how he failed to evolve in a 3-D environment, old school Sonic is all kinds of addictive. Racing the little blue blur through loops and spin-dashing your way to victory never gets old. The speed is there, and the entertainment follows. Whether or not Sega does what Nintendon’t, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on Xbox Live Arcade is a shining example of what Sega can do and proves itself as an unforgettable platformer.

“No-limit Texas Hold’Em is the Cadillac of poker,” says Mike McDermott in the opening moments of Rounders. If that’s the case, Texas Cheat ’Em is a 1988 Eldorado with a few dings from the shady used-car guy down the block: It’s a Cadillac, and it still gets you where you need to go, but the ride isn’t as smooth as others.

The great thing about this current generation of consoles is the availability of indie gaming. Each platform has its own pros and cons of the indie game scene. As such, each platform offers a unique perspective. Currently, the most prominent is the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade (or so it seems to me). And Braid caught the eyes of many players about a year ago. And it’s about time we PC gamers got a chance to play it. So how does it hold up? It holds its own rather darn well on the PC and is a pitch perfect port of the XBLA game.

Since 1993, the Doom franchise has gone from being a hugely popular PC shooter to a series of novels, the media’s favorite whipping boy, a movie and more. If you missed the boat the first time and you want to know why “BFG,” “IDDQD,” and “Cyberdemon” are permanent parts of the gamer lexicon, Microsoft and id Software have you covered. Doom has returned via Xbox Live Arcade, almost precisely as it appeared 16 years ago.

Joining the growing ranks of role-playing puzzle games, Konami’s Puzzle Chronicles looks like it will be a good fit for anyone who was a fan of Puzzle Quest or other puzzle RPGs. The demo version I saw was on the Nintendo DS, though it should also ship for PSP and be downloadable for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.

Here's the thing: I have had Peggle on two of my mobile phones, my computer and now it is on my Xbox 360. I love it, but it is no ordinary kind of love. It is a time-suck kind of love. I sit down to play and then find myself half-comatose several hours later with atrophied muscles and five o'clock shadow. Okay, maybe not the beard stubble, unless the game causes hormonal imbalances I am not aware of yet, but my time rapidly disappears while I play the game. It won't let me go! I can hear it whispering ...

Space ... it is very big and very easy to fall back on as a setting when making a game. There’s nothing cooler than aliens, spaceships, black holes and blasting things with space lasers. Yes, everything is better when you do it in the uncharted cosmos that is outer space. Well, except for tedious repetitive tasks. Unfortunately, there are plenty of those to be found in Puzzle Quest: Galactrix.

Namco Bandai's Editors Day was held in sunny but still chilly San Francisco on this sunny Spring afternoon. I partook of a few pieces of Hors D'oeuvre and found myself a drink and a seat before the presentation began. Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing, took the stage to tell us that their expectations for Soulcaliber IV in 2008 far exceeded their expectations for number of copies sold, as did their entrants into the more casual Wii gaming market: We Cheer, Wii Active Life ( played with game mat and Wiimote), as well as We Ski.

In 1978, kids young and old started popping quarters into Space Invaders arcade machines. In 1980, the game landed on the Atari 2600 and was the first arcade game to be officially licensed. There have been numerous sequels and remakes on various platforms. This year, for the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders, developer Backbone Entertainment and publisher Taito are releasing Space Invaders Extreme as an Xbox Live Arcade download.

The Maw is an excellent game in which you control an alien who has befriended a giant, indestructible blob whose only purpose is to consume other beings and grow larger. My Mom dragged me to the couch and told me to try this game. I was hesitant at first and I had an immediate negative reaction. I was wrong about The Maw and found it to be extremely enjoyable. As I went through the first few levels, I found that I just didn’t want to play any other game until I finished. By the end I was amazed and quite happy I tried the game.

It pains me to say this, but you don’t really need to read this review. Simply go to www.penny-arcade.com/comic/, read a couple strips, and see if they make you laugh. If they do, it’s a safe bet you’ll like On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1. If not, then this isn’t the game for you. And be warned, the game may look cute, but it definitely earns its M rating, and the comics make liberal use of adult language. But here’s a little more information to help you make your decision.

By now, many of you have probably heard of the critically praised Braid, the downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game that is capturing the imaginations of tens of thousands of gamers throughout the world. And everything you’ve heard is true. It’s beautiful, it’s brilliant and it’s an experience to cherish. So stop whatever it is you’re doing and go play this game right now.

Guns, aliens, babes. Duke always makes sure he starts his day handling one of the three, or any unique combo thereof. Some people might begin their mornings with Folger’s in their cup. Duke usually starts his with a retaliatory mass extinction of an entire alien race. They deserve what he does to them — most of the time. Back in 1996, Duke had just busted out on the 3D scene with Duke Nukem 3D, and for a gigantic grab bag of every iconic B-movie action star and pop culture reference known to man, the experience was pleasantly fresh. The gameplay was strong, and the entertainment was absurdly fun. Now with the Xbox 360 bimonthly shooter due out to meet quota, Xbox Live Arcade gives us the port of Duke Nukem 3D to once again remind us of why it was so groovy to play in the first place.

Galaga is one of my old-school arcade favorites, so when I saw a fancy, flashy new game pop up on Xbox Live Arcade, I felt the need to give it a spin. I mean, given all the quarters I pumped in back in the day, what's a few more bucks given to Namco?

The Behemoth, creaters of Alien Hominid, are back, delivering us more side-scrolling whup-ass on Xbox Live Arcade. If you are like me and still yearn for the old classics like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Game, Final Fight, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, etc., then you'll be happy to hear that the genre has another beautiful addition just waiting for you to come and sink your teeth into.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're not supposed to compare games to other games here at GamersInfo.net. Then again, I'm talking about the classic of all classic video games, Pong, where two paddles bounce a ball back and forth, and I'm talking about Breakout, where a paddle bounces a ball against bricks in an effort to…uh…break out of something. If you haven't heard of at least one of those games, well, I'm not certain how you're using a computer to read this.

There we go; someone has gone and surrounded Earth yet again. That means, as is inevitable, it's up to one plucky pilot — you — to (this time) steal a prototype alien spaceship and blast your way through hordes and hordes of enemies and save the day. Somehow, though, it keeps staying fun.

Sometimes all you're looking for is mindless shoot 'em up fun. Loads of bullets flying across the screen, stuff blowing up all around you, swarms of bad guys threatening to overwhelm you, that kind of thing. If that's what you're looking for, Assault Heroes 2 is right up your alley.

Platforming will remain as one of the genres with greatest longevity in my gaming life. I started with nothing less, and I like nothing more to this day than just jumping around. They've evolved over the years, sure, but a spot-on formula for this type of game is always in the quirks that lie within each individual title's framework ... though pixel-perfect accuracy seems to remain one of the simplest ways to ensure a smile on a gamer's face. N+ is a follow-up to its popular predecessor on the PC, N, and is now available as another respectable choice on Xbox Live Arcade. With just a lonely little ninja and a strong pair of legs, does this game have enough to offer for even the more demanding Xbox 360 owner?