Reviews & Articles

Horror is a difficult genre to do well. Too many directors and writers focus on the gore element instead of balancing it with psychological horror. Think about it. Every new horror movie released has more "realistic" gore than the last movie in order to disturb people. This probably has to do with the cult classic Dawn of the Dead. But what about likable characters that the viewer can identify with? What about an adventure that feels like one is watching a person delve inside himself, and ultimately ourselves?

A few weeks ago, I was browsing the game isle and came across CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder at a discounted price, so I picked it up. I remember playing one of the first CSI games about four or five years ago and was wondering if they fixed the earlier lameness of the series; I always loved the idea of a "CSI" game.

I love superheroes. The mountains of comic books I owned when I was younger are a testament to that my passion. One of my all time favorite Pen and Paper games ia a superhero RPG entitles Champions. As technology changed and my ability to sit around a table with my friends diminished, I've turned to electronic sources of entertainment. What do I get to play? None other than the strongest superhero ever as he romps through New York City literally stomping the bad guy into the dirt. The video game is far more visually stimulating than looking at your geek friends over a table top.

I think stating that I'm not a big pinball enthusiast is as easy as saying that I grew up in the 90s. I don't know if I would call the game of pinball a fad, but it was definitely a tool of entertainment at the time that it was popular. Video games we're on there rise to fame as I was born, so my loyalties lie with them. My fondest memories of pinball are limited to killing time in pizza parlors or as little distractions on vacations when I would leave my GameBoy in a hotel room. So, when I received Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection it was weird to have that feeling of, "Oh, Pinball, How you doin'?" My only other thought was, "Well, at least this game has an excuse not to innovate with the Wii-mote." And this time it didn't turn out to be a bad thing.

Over in Japan, the "Megaten" (Shin Megami Tensei) series is actually rather popular. (The phrase in Japanese is translated as "True Goddess Reborn.") The player usually controls a young male computer user who recruits demons in order to save the world. Sounds "clean" and safe enough, right? So why has this series not been fully translated for American audiences?

It's important to go into a game experience with a positive attitude. This may means simply keeping expectations in check, or just generally doing a good job not to make any assumptions. Iridium Runners was thrust into my life with two ideas in mind: I would first understand the game, and then I would begin to enjoy it. The second part never quite happened.

Vice City doesn't seem very big any more. When it was first released in 2002 - 2002! How long ago does that seem now - it provided us with an expansive, decadent world full of new areas, missions and people to explore and interact with. Then, in 2004, we were stunned yet again: the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas expanded the playing area fourfold and introduced us to a gaming experience the size, literally, of a state: three cities, and just as much again of countryside full of small towns, mountains, lakes and rivers. True to form, the story of the Grand Theft Auto world is not exclusive to the individual games. Its characters and plotlines cross over the various titles. This brings us, neatly, to one of the classics in the Grand Theft Auto series: Vice City Stories. It's less of a full blown, full fat, fully loaded and brand new addition to the canon of Rockstar's finest; instead, it's more of a portable prologue, a port of the PSP game of the same name that's been ramped up to somewhere more approaching PS2 standards for a public clamouring for more.

Being a big fan of the Harvey Birdman cartoon — and Adult Swim in general — I was pretty jazzed about playing with this one. The game gets started looking exactly like a typical episode from television. That’s cool; I like the episodes. Then I got a brief bit of play that plays like a scene from “Phoenix Wright,” only instead of something remotely serious, I had to defend a hippo who my wife is accusing of burning down my home. Through some witty dialog, I prove her testimony to be a big pile of horse manure, while at the same time preventing her from cashing in on my huge insurance claim.

"Watching a bowling game is like watching fish [reproduce]," said a fellow reviewer. "It's the most boring thing on earth." I must be the most boring person on the face of this earth then. Have you ever seen the courting dance of a Siamese fighting fish? I find it totally fascinating! What does this have to do with Brunswick Pro Bowling? Well, you wouldn't believe the hoops I threw myself through to review this game. I previewed it at E3 last year and was very impressed by the simulation. In the short time I had, I threw a hook, a curve and regular straight deliveries. Then I waxed poetic over it to my brother — who was a 200 average amateur bowler and bowling coach for high school students in his glory days.

For us who can’t get enough of Persona 3, Atlus steps in to cure the craving with the FES edition. You could think of it as a director’s cut of the original game; both gameplay and storyline receive the gold treatment with many new bells and whistles. There’s also a brand-new epilogue chapter in which members of SEES attempt to come to terms with the past while facing a new, unexpected threat ... something that ultimately tests their bonds of friendship. For anyone who has yet to play Persona 3, grabbing FES should be a no-brainer. Those who already have it might ask, what’s in it for me? Well, read on.

Developed by Slitherine and published by CDV Entertainment USA, The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome is a real-time tactical simulation that lets you take command of Roman legions and experience the history of the Roman Empire from its earliest days when it was ruled by Etruscan kings, to the last days of a dying empire. From the very start, Great Battles of Rome pulls you into the story of the emerging republic as you throw off the yoke of the king and established Rome as its own city-state. But times are not easy for your people as Rome is still weak and beset by enemies on all sides. You must recruit troops and lead them into battle to secure Rome's future and seal its fate.

Media tie-ins are as common a vice as any in the gaming world, and any franchise highly regarded or well-respected will be sure to get the treatment. While it's true such tie-ins with movies, TV or anime may not fare as well in quality because of the unconscious emphasis by the developers on the tie-in part rather than the game, some instances like Dragon Ball Z have such an established formula that performing a less-than-admirable job on the source material would be downright difficult. With the series powering up to its third installment, does the game land enough direct hits to merit a worthy opponent?

After time, most characters in the gaming world who achieve a certain level of buzz and popularity will be blessed with a variety of spin offs to commemorate their status. This also tends to continue the momentum in the hope to prove just how entertaining the source material is. This go around, Sonic has been given the star treatment with Sonic Riders Zero Gravity in an attempt to rectify the spotty history of Sonic's racing titles, and try to improve on the failings of the first Sonic Riders as well.

Much like the show, the game's dubious title: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-am, is more or less a misnomer. After all they aren't teens, there isn't really a lot of water involved and, as far as the hunger force implication, yeah, that doesn't happen either. The Pro-am in the title could be pushing it, too, considering the entire package prides itself on being an action golfing combat kart-racing adventure fighting game ... accuracy is not the first quality that springs to mind. Spending 10 minutes with the game, (again, much like the show) and you will find that the game's strongest suit is humor, and that the funny keeps strong through the games entirety, even if the rest never endures as anything beyond a fallacy. Zombies and Ninjas are not included.

By now it should be no surprise that for every major motion picture, an accompanying video game also must be available. I always try to approach these games with an open mind, but I have been less than impressed with a majority of these types of games. The Golden Compass, published by Sega, would fall into that category.

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night is a continuation from an earlier game, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, developed by Sierra. It has our hero, a lovable purple dragon voiced by Elijah Wood (that hobbit guy) and his trusty sidekick Sparx, voiced by Billy West (Futurama). Spyro gets to go and do battle with various minions of the dark master. Over the course of 19 levels, Spyro will have to solve puzzles, find objectives, survive and do the usual run of things associated with an adventure/role-playing game.

The first thing I noticed when looking at CSI: Hard Evidence at the game store was the M 17+ rating on the box. The game is based on "CSI in Las Vegas," which is one of the few shows I really love to watch, so I decided to take a chance and pick it up, even if it meant that my play time would be limited to when my daughter is safely asleep. Boy, am I glad I went ahead and got this.

Strange alien crystals are wreaking havoc around the world and causing a global monster mash. Teens and button-mashers — as well as ardent fans of the old black-and-white Japanese Godzilla movies with the bad lip-synching — are going to love Godzilla Unleashed.

Disney Princess — Enchanted Journey by Papaya Studios is truly an enchanted journey. You are a little girl with a magic wand (your Wii-mote), and you travel the lands of the various Disney Princesses, helping them recover lost magic or thwart evil. All through that, you free butterflies that have been captured and subverted by evil witches into Bogs that surround and harass you. This is a title written for very young children — ages 4–8 — and kudos to Papaya Studios for a truly marvelous job.

Everyone's favorite Bandicoot is back in Crash of the Titans, and this game does know jack. The latest edition for the PlayStation 2 of the venerable franchise features our hero, his sister Coco, Crunch and, of course, Aku Aku, the disembodied friend to Bandicoots since, well, since there have been Bandicoots.

The continent of Prodesto has a long history of war and strife. Much blood was shed and tragedy brought as its nations vied for supremacy. Then, three centuries ago, Lord Median the Conqueror finally put an end to war, defeating all his enemies and uniting the nations under a single banner. This hard-won peace was short-lived, however, as both Median and his son died in a deadly plague. Again, the old hostilities arose as survivors battled for control.

Ratchet and Clank is the first game in Naughty Dog's seminal PlayStation series — and its two main protagonists, the hyperactive Lombax Ratchet and the misunderstood robot Clank are, arguably, the closest thing the current and next generation has to the PSX's hugely popular mascot, Crash Bandicoot. So far, so good: The marketing men are happy &mash; they have characters who can make millions on dolls with movable limbs and rickety plastic lunchboxes. But what about the actual game — does it do as well as the "brand"?

Did you know there are 25 hours to a day? At the stroke of midnight, hidden between one second and the next, is the time of the Dark Hour. It is when the world takes on strange hues and contrasts, all devices stop working, the bizarre tower of Tartarus springs up toward the sky, and the mind-devouring Shadows are about. Most humans are oblivious to all this, transmogrifying into coffins for the duration. Only few are capable of experiencing the Dark Hour, and they are subject to Shadows' attacks. Some of these people, however, have the potential, the ability to tap their inner power, and call forth a Persona to protect themselves.

If the Wii and PSP versions weren't enough, Metal Slug Anthology on the PlayStation 2 gives the last-generation console owners a chance to blow stuff up in spades. At least with this version you don't have to deal with new controls as you did with the Wii. You don't even have to deal with the atrocious loading times that the PSP is known for. Instead, you get all seven of the Metal Slug games that were released since 1996 in one fine package.

You know how you have certain expectations about, well ... everything? I knew I was going to see Lord of the Rings Online when visiting Midway; I even said to someone, "time to go see what Midway is currently shooting." I mean, they make good shooters. I didn't say, think or imagine I'd be looking at Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am. After I heard the title, I honestly wasn't surprised to hear there are no zombies and no ninjas. The whole combat/racing/golf-sim thing ...

Lara Croft made a surprising comeback last year with Tomb Raider: Legends, developed by Crystal Dynamics. Using the formula that managed to bring this series back to life, Crystal Dynamics brings us Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the original Tomb Raider that was developed by Core Design.

I don't think it would have made a difference whether I saw the animй first, but after playing Eureka Seven Volume 1: The New Wave, I am fairly certain that I will not be watching the animй anytime soon, if ever.

Thus speak the old prophecies: five great disasters will strike the land, heralding the end of the world and the coming of Armageddon ... but those who survive the calamity shall become kings. Now the fate of five individuals becomes intertwined with this foretold strife, inexorably drawing them through war, conspiracy and harrowing choices toward the end of days. This is the tale of Odin Sphere, an action role-playing game that liberally draws upon the Norse myths for its inspiration.

Having seen too many heist movies over the years, Th3 Plan plays out like a movie, but it falls short when it comes to the "wow factor" critical for this genre. Everything from gameplay to sound to graphics and dialogue are mediocre. The idea behind Th3 Plan was good, as I haven't played this type of game in a while, but for a new game on the PlayStation 2 in 2007 (or 2006, since it came out in Europe last year), I expected a lot more visually.

There are some things in life that are best the first time around. The first bite of an apple. The first time you see a really great movie. The first time you travel to a foreign country. A first kiss. While what comes after may be great, may in fact even be technically better than the first time, it will never match the overwhelming sensation of that first experience. And no matter how good the following ones are, they still leave you wanting that first, fresh experience. That is how I feel about God of War II.