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RipTen Review: Scarygirl (XBLA)

Catherine Cai — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:45 +0000

Since I’m unfamiliar with the origins of Nathan Jurevicius’s Scarygirl, my initial expectations of the game are decided by how I judge everything I associate with either “I don’t know” or a half-hearted shrug—by its title. Still, with such an ambiguous name, I’m not sure what to expect. Is this title meant to be taken literally so that this a horror game about a very “scary girl”? Does the title describe a dead girl that’s a frankensteined amalgamation of child, bone, and tentacle who, if I saw in the streets of reality, I’d probably elicit a blood curling scream before dashing in the opposite direction that she came from, but thankfully is cute because of her animated existence? Why, yes. That’s precisely who Scarygirl is.

If my description of Scarygirl was enough to turn your head, expect to do that a few more times after reading over the game’s synopsis. Apparently, Scarygirl was once an unwanted, abandoned child that was adopted by a hyper-intelligent octopus named Blister, who gave her, her given name and a place to live. Sounds dark? Don’t worry about it. The world of Scarygirl is only twisted in that “Nightmare Before Christmas” way, where for a split second you realize that shit’s fucked… before forgetting about that entirely because of the insane amount of cute that’s being forced down your throat so you’d find it socially acceptable enough for your children to play the game.

I thought that Scarygirl’s eye-catching and unique synopsis would be held up by gameplay that would introduce a spark of something that was just as unique. I wasn’t expecting much. After all, the side-scrolling platform genre has been near beaten to death by the same basic gameplay elements. There’s really only so much that you can tweak to the mechanics of a platforming game in order to make it unique. I guess I was both right and wrong. While Scarygirl’s gameplay mechanics weren’t so novel that they’d blow my mind, but they were simply so polished that I couldn’t help but have fun with the game, despite the fact that basically the same old bag of platforming bits.

Scarygirl’s a mix of side-scrolling platforming with a few elements of hack ‘n slash sprinkled in. Her controls handle very tightly and smoothly, and the use of her tentacle for the grab and glide mechanisms make a nice addition to the game. However, her combat mechanics aren’t quite as up to speed as her platform handling. Scarygirl’s tentacle has been much improved over the original flash game in combat (which I tried out for research, I didn’t lie about not knowing anything about Scarygirl.) Originally, it wasn’t much more than a useless attachment for her ineffectual spin attack. Her combat tentacle now functions as a whip-like object and can mix up light and heavy attacks. Light attacks are faster, whereas heavy attacks allow her to literally juggle her enemies in the air. A purple ring will show around her enemies when they’ve been sufficiently knocked down enough as an indication that she can grab them. From thereon, she can either choose to perform a special move on or toss away her unfortunate captive. As Scarygirl continues to fight, she begins to build up her rage meter, which, when filled, can be used to trigger Scarygirl’s rage mode, where the entire screen melts into gray and Scarygirl becomes a gruesome enemy-chomping version of herself. Scary.

Along her merry, but creepy journey, Scarygirl can grab two types of pickup items. Gems float around the levels that Scarygirl travels through, which I suppose works as the capital of her world’s economy. Gems can be traded with specific sellers scattered through levels for new tentacle add-ons, which serve as power ups in Scarygirl and can provide such benefits as attack bonuses; new vinyls, which are just pretty collectibles you can view in the Scarygirl menu level for collector’s items whores; and new special moves. The other collectible that Scarygirl can gather is fish, which I suppose she grew fond of as a result of her time with Blister the octopus. The health system in Scarygirl functions the same as the one in the Legend ofZelda series. A series of hearts represent the amount of life Scarygirl has left. Every time Scarygirl is harmed, she loses a quarter of a heart or more. Every fish that she grabs up brings back a quarter of a heart. And just like in The Legend of Zelda, where heart pieces can be collected in order to have more overall hearts, Scarygirl can do the same.

If you want to share your love of Scarygirl around with a friend, you can. Scarygirl features a local co-op mode, where you can play as Scarygirl and your friend can play as the infinitely cooler Bunniguru, the bunny martial arts master. Although the basic combat and platforming moves are essentially the same, but Bunniguru handles significantly differently from Scarygirl. He runs faster, higher, and glides for longer periods of time than Scarygirl, but he comes with the handicap of being unable to grab anything beyond ledges for platforming. Although 2 player co-op is decently fun enough with Scarygirl, it contains some serious flaws that makes it an extremely frustrating experience for whoever is playing as Bunniguru. Instead of allowing the in-game camera to pan out when Scarygirl and Bunniguru get far apart from each other, the camera stays squarely focused on Scarygirl. Anytime Bunniguru wanders out of the frame, he’ll be teleported immediately back to wherever Scarygirl is, which is eye-ball-gougingly annoying, since the game seems to have it out for Bunniguru by teleporting him over spikes and never-ending abysses of certain death. The game also makes it impossible for you to complete the game as Bunniguru as the game restarts at a checkpoint whenever Scarygirl’s health runs out, regardless of whether or not Bunniguru is completely fine. There are also certain junctures within the game that require Scarygirl’s ability to grab items and enemies, which Bunniguru is incapable of doing. I guess here is where there’s a discrepancy between the ludonarrative, since it wouldn’t make sense in the story for Bunniguru to continue on Scarygirl’s mission without her. From a technical standpoint, this mechanic almost breaks co-op mode and certainly makes it a very frustrating experience.

Scarygirl is an absolute triumph in aesthetics. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous and the sound design complements that sick, twisted, and cute effect of the visuals. In fact, I wouldn’t blink an eye if you were to tell me that Danny Elfman somehow contributed to the sound design of the game. On the technical side, although Scarygirl is well-polished in its platforming aspects, it suffers from derivateness and a few mechanical flaws such as random difficulty spikes and a broken co-op mode that prevents it from being a great game across the board.

Here’s the Rundown:

+ Scarygirl is adorable, in that Tim Burton-y way
+ Polished, platformer fun
+ Bunniguru is a bamf
+ It’s pretty
- Drop-in local co-op is almost unplayable for player two
- Random difficulty spikes that may get under your skin
- Boss fights are few and far between

8 and 8.5 represent a game that is a good experience overall. While there may be some issues that prevent it from being fantastic, these scores are for games that you feel would easily be worth a purchase.

Scarygirl is developed by TikGames and published by Square Enix. It was released on XBLA on January 18, 2012. A copy of the game was graciously provided by Square Enix. Scarygirl was played to completion in about 8 hours.

Limbo Now Available For Mac on Steam

Brandon Fenty — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:30:15 +0000

If your primary computer is a Mac, as is my situation, you may find your choices severely limited on Steam. While some great titles like Left 4 Dead are available for Mac, the majority of major releases I must watch my PC brethren play with envy. Still, more and more titles are being launched with Apple gamers in mind, and the most recent of these is Limbo, a 2D platformer we made unique by its monochromatic art style.

While the game was released 3 weeks ago on the Mac App Store, the versatility and cross-platform capability of Steam make it an ideal place to purchase the title if you haven’t already. While the game is a little late to the party, having been around for over a year already, it is still a must-have title. Check it out on Steam!

RipTen Review: Trine 2 (XBLA)

Chris Carlson — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:00:27 +0000

Trine 2 combines a beautiful, artistic and vibrant world with platforming, puzzles and action / RPG elements to create one of the most visually stunning and entertaining downloadable titles of 2011. These puzzles aren’t solved alone however. Having the ability to simultaneously switch between three distinct characters makes Trine 2 one brain-twisting experience.

Throughout the game you’ll be using each of your three characters abilities to solve countless puzzles: Amadeus who is a wizard which can conjure boxes and platforms and has the ability to levitate multiple objects; Zoya is a thief who wields a grappling hook and a bow, and Pontiusis a fearless (fat) knight with a sword and shield (and hammer)

As you venture through the game you’ll have the ability to level up each of the three characters further increasing their skills. While these do make puzzle solving easier, leveling up isn’t necessary if you’re looking for a real challenge. Trine 2 also offers many different ways to play. If you want to try solving each puzzle by using just Zoya for instance, you’re more than welcomed to do so. If things get to tough however, you can always switch to another character to help complete the current section.

Aside from puzzle solving, Trine 2 also offers a bit of combat. It’s not the strongest aspect of the game as it’s rather basic. Most of the enemies die in a few simple hits and aren’t very challenging, But when trying to solve platforming puzzles at the same time, it certainly makes things a bit more difficult.

However the challenge is actually where I found issues with Trine 2. As challenging as it can be sometimes, the checkpoint system used in the game completely ruins it. Instead of reloading to a checkpoint and having to re-complete what you’ve done, the game just “warps” you to the area. This can be done at any time by accessing the pause menu. So, you never really have the fear of dying because you’ll never lose any progress. While the puzzles aren’t easy, this system almost makes the game too easy.

This tends to make mini-boss like enemies insanely easy as you can simply spam the checkpoint system and repeat the same attacks without the worry of the enemies health returning back to full. It’s not a deal breaking, but it’s certainly an easy way out for gamers who can’t overcome the challenge.

As I mentioned before, Trine 2 is a simply beautiful. The colors are perfect, bloom is used just right, the environments feel like-like. Overall it’s just one of the most beautiful downloadable titles I’ve seen in a long time. Even though some of the environments can be repeated, you’ll never get bored of seeing the same beautiful scenery.

The animations on the other hand are rather dull and don’t offer much variety, but the simple fact that you’ll have multiple ways to tackle each puzzle makes up for it. I would often find myself in the middle of solving a puzzle, just to realize I could have done it a completely different way. This is what makes Trine 2 so excellent. On your second playthrough, you can challenge yourself by completing different puzzles in multiple ways to further increase the replay value.

If that’s not you’re type of thing, co-op is also offered. Up to three players can take on the entire single player campaign playing freely as any character their heart desires. Unfortunately, the downside to co-op is that nothing will be changed. If you’ve already beaten the game by yourself, you’ll be doing the exact same puzzles over, but with a friend instead.

This is rather disappointing as a separate co-op experience with its own unique puzzles would have made a great time with friends. I’d rather be able to only complete certain puzzles and levels with friends, that way going in I would have no idea what to expect. Maybe in Trine 3? Or Trine… Trine?

Overall, Trine 2 is simply a fantastic experience that any gamer who is a fan of puzzle platforming games should at the very least, try out. You just simply can’t go wrong with a beautiful downloadable title such as this that offers so much and takes a different approach at puzzle solving.

Not only that, but if you have a friend to jump in from the get-go, you’ll have one hell of a weekend. Bottom line is, if you’re looking to get your brain twisted for the holidays, Trine 2 is the game you’re looking for. You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s The Rundown:

+ Beautiful. Simply beautiful

+ Great physics and puzzle solving

+ Fantastic use of characters and abilites

+ Multiple ways to solve the same puzzles

+ Co-op

- Co-op, due to the lack of separate levels

- Some puzzles are overused a bit too much

- The current checkpoint system ruins much of the challenge

9 and 9.5 represent the pinnacle of the genre, a game that defines what that genre should be about. These scores are for games that you not only feel would be worth your purchase, but you would actually try to convince your friends to buy them as well.

Trine 2 was developed by Frozenbyte, and published by Atlus. It will be released on XBLA and PSN on December 21st, 2011. A review copy was provided by Atlus for the purpose of this review. Trine 2 was played until completion taking around 6 hours to finish. It’s so pretty!

Team Meat Begin Creating New Game, “More Experimental”

Sam Naylor — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:39:18 +0000

Team Meat, the two person company behind Super Meat Boy, have begun work on their new game, this time looking at being more ambitious.

Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, who created the wonderful Super Meat Boy, say that their new project will not be a down-the-line platformer again:

“I think it’s safe to say that Meat Boy was a very straightforward game. We didn’t really reach outside the box in terms of design. I think with the new game we definitely get a bit more experimental with the design.

“I think it’s going to be more ambitious design-wise and it’s going to be more of a challenge for us. It’s a bigger project. It’s going to be fun and that’s exactly why we’re into it. It’s going to be pretty fresh.”

As for the platform? McMillen said:

“We’re going to approach the next game in the same way we did Meat Boy. We’re just going to make a game and if it works on whatever system it works on then good, but we’re not designing this game with a specific system in mind.”

Whatever happens, lads, we have complete faith in you. Any developer who puts as much love into a game as Super Meat Boy’s creators is a force to be reckoned with. Oh, and they also say that the Mac version of SMB is on the way. Just be patient.

Lara Croft & the Guardian of Light Launching Without Online Co-Op

Demi Adejuyigbe — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:33:13 +0000

I think the two Summer of Arcade games that I’m most excited about are Monday Night Combat and Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light. Getting a TF2-style shooter on XBLA seems like a terrific idea, but getting an isometric, online co-op enabled Lara Croft game seems too good to be true. Oh, did I say online co-op enabled? I meant “local and local only for a month enabled”. Just a typo- the keys are right next to each other and whatnot.

If you’re looking forward to blasting through Guardian of Light with a buddy online, then you’re going to have to wait until September 28th, coincidentally the same day the PS3 version launches. Crystal Dynamics plans to patch online co-operative play into the game that day, as it seems as though it won’t be ready for launch.

I’m conflicted on this news; on the one hand, not having to deal with a delay on the game is great, but I have a feeling that online co-op is what will make this game the most fun. I guess we’ll have to find out ourselves whether or not we’re willing to wait for a patch when the game launches on Xbox Live Arcade on August 18th. [Destructoid]

Ripten Review: Limbo

Bryce Wilson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:42:59 +0000

Let me put this out there from the get go: Limbo isn’t as big and amazing as everyone has made it out to be. Yes it is a good game. Yes the art style is new and unique, perfect perhaps. But it isn’t the Mona Lisa of all video games.

Limbo is a platform-puzzle game developed by Playdead, a studio located in Denmark. The studio name accurately sums up my experience with Limbo, because you play and die a lot. Players take the role of a nameless little boy who awakes in a dark forest, only to find his sister is missing. You then go through a relatively short story to find the missing girl.

Due to the fact it’s a platformer in its simplest form, there isn’t a lot of control depth or advanced stuff to do when it comes to controlling your character. The controls are simple and easy to master, however that adds to the brilliant way in which the game is both displayed and played. Everything is controlled by literally three buttons. A/Y lets you jump, and the left joystick is responsible for movement. It’s so simple even a five year old could figure it out basically.

A lot of the time you’ll find yourself just jumping and climbing to defeat the multiple puzzles that are scattered throughout every level. This never gets boring though due to the beautiful art style and sound mix within Limbo, something you’ve no doubt heard about prior to reading this review. Everything in Limbo is presented in Black and White which gives it a film noir aesthetic, making it really easy and enjoyable to look at. There is rarely a lot happening on the screen and that minimalistic approach is beautiful, and I commend Playdead for that, however as I previously mentioned the beautiful art style isn’t enough to save this game.

Underneath the shallow platforming gameplay that is occasionally broken up by some difficult puzzles, Limbo really isn’t that new or unique. The developers have described it as a “Trial-and-death” type game, but I call it a cheap ploy to promote more play time.

Most of the deadly traps throughout Limbo require you to actually die before you know they’re there, which breaks the immersion they’ve obviously tried so hard to create, and makes the game a push over. I finished this game in an hour, and it would’ve been quicker had I not of been killed time after time by traps and puzzles I didn’t know where there until I got killed by them. The extreme gore is pretty surprising the first time you see it – something I was taking back by as a matter of fact. In comparison to the simple story and gameplay, the brutal punishment of death was quite contrasting.

The puzzles should be approachable in a way that makes you say: “Oh, so that rope is there, and so is that trap, I’ll drag the rope into it!” as opposed to “Oh, so I can’t swing on that rope because that trap fucks me up. I better drag the rope into it!”. One method requires you to use your brain, the other requires you to play like an idiot – you work out which is which. I think the real value of Limbo comes through interpreting the ending, as well as the gameplay experience itself. I was in awe when I was playing, because of how simple and engaging the game is, something that many others have failed to do (Be simple and engaging at the same time).

I think my largest gripe with Limbo is confusion. I loved the game, I’ll play it again and again, but I don’t get the public reception to it. When Activision announced that the Modern Warfare 2 Map Packs were going to cost $20 AUD everyone was up in arms, furious even. People billed it a rip off, money grabbing, and a lot more. However the Modern Warfare 2 maps offer hours and hours of playtime, with thousands of people. Limbo retails for $20 AUD (Factoring in MSP), and people are completely fine with it.

To summarise, Limbo is a brilliant game, but it’s definitely not the cream of the crop. A rarely seen art style, simple gameplay and a story that is left to the player to decipher doesn’t do enough to cover the shallow experience and time-to-price ratio. If I am paying 20 bucks for a game, I expect the play time to be 5-7 hours and not 1 hour on my first playthrough. If you’re looking for a new experience and you’ve got cash to burn, go for Limbo, just don’t expect hours and hours of gameplay.

The Rundown:

+ Great art style and minimalistic look
+ Sound makes the environment feel eerie and spooky
- Thin replay value
- Priced incorrectly – Definitely worth 800 MSP. 1200 MSP maybe not.

LIMBO was developed by Playdead Studios and was published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox LIVE Arcade. The game released in the United States on July 21st 2010 with a retail price of 1200MSP. The game was played til completion in Single Player. LIMBO was played on an Xbox 360 Pro with a 60GB Hard Drive, Logitech x530 5.1 Surround Sound, Tritton AX720 5.1 Dolby Digital Headset and a Samsung P2350 23″ (1920×1080) LCD Monitor was used for display.

Latest Sonic the Hedgehog Voice Actor Jason Griffith Parting Ways with SEGA’s Iconic Character?

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:51:48 +0000

The recent web chatter on several hardcore Sonic fan sites revolves around the possibility of the character’s voice actor since 2005, Jason Griffith, parting ways with SEGA’s iconic figure.

A video clip from Sonic Colors was posted to Jason’s Facebook page with a comment stating “This isn’t you, is it?” The question posing poster also noted that Sonic’s former voice actor (1998-2004), Ryan Drummond, voiced his opinion on being “canned” as soon as it happened — asking Jason why he didn’t do the same. Jason responded by stating:

“Thanks for sending [a video of Sonic Colours]. Not sure who is voicing Sonic, unfortunately, so I can’t really say. Also, we have all signed NDA’s in the past, so I don’t really “speak up” on a lot of things involving SEGA.”

I’ve recently reached out to SEGA for comment, and will let you know as soon as we hear back from them. However, in the mean time, as someone who has worked on the ad agency side for many years, I feel it important to add that this may not be as cut and dry as it seems. A quick look at Jason’s IMDB page reveals that the actor is currently working on another game in the production phase, so it is very possible that a scheduling conflict prevented him from reprising his role.

Of course, it is also possible that SEGA has simply decided to head in a different direction by giving another voice actor a go. And to be completely fair, Jason was once that new guy himself.

Change can be a difficult thing to accept, as fans of Ryan Drummond’s work continue to make clear years later. But it certainly happens in every walk of life, and if nothing else, it makes for interesting forum banter when it does.

[Source: SonicStadium via: GoNintendo]

Sonic Colors Pre-Order Bonus Doesn’t Make You Faster

Demi Adejuyigbe — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:36:33 +0000

When I pre-ordered Scribblenauts for the DS last year, the game came with an awesome bonus; a rooster hat similar to the one Max wears in-game. I love that hat- I still wear it periodically, even. When I go in to GameStop next week to preorder Sonic Colors, the Sonic wig they gave me will surely go nicely with my hat.

I’m not a hat connoisseur by any means, but this seems like another pre-0rder bonus that I can’t pass up. A Sonic wig, you guys! And if you preorder both the DS & Wii versions, you get two hats! I don’t know what I would do with two hats, but how the hell could I not drop five bucks on the game for this hat? [Destructoid]

Ripten Review: Crackdown 2

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:37:49 +0000

Crackdown was released in early 2007 to generally positive reviews. Players had a blast bounding over rooftops, throwing cars off of bridges, blowing up everything they saw in glorious mega-explosions. Now, over three years later, developer Ruffian Games has re-released the popular platformer fo- Wait, this is a sequel? Seriously? Oh. My bad, everyone.

Ruffian has taken the old idiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and turned it into a cautionary tale. As it turns out, even if it isn’t broken, sometimes you should still attempt to fix it. It’s true that when making a sequel, you want to carry over all of the successful elements of the preceding game. But if you don’t significantly add onto that formula, there’s no real point to making a sequel, which is something that Crackdown 2 suffers from.

Crackdown didn’t have much of a story so it’s no surprise that the sequel shares the same lack of plot. You again are an Agent of The Agency. Pacific City is once again overrun with crime. Also zombies. And your handler is still one untrustworthy creep. But it’s not the complete lack of plot that’s odd. Because there is a little bit of a plot, strewn about the city in the form of audio logs. You can find these and listen to them to hear little tidbits of Pacific City’s history. While the inclusion of audio logs isn’t new to videogames, they’re usually used to provide supplementary material. In BioShock, they exist alongside the narrative and serve to flesh out the city of Rapture. In Halo 3, terminals filled in some backstory. In Crackdown 2, the logs are the only instance of story in the entire game, save for the short opening and closing cutscenes. Basically, you have to scour the game world to find the plot. And what’s worse is that there seems to be four separate stories to keep track of – all dealing with different aspects of the city. By the time you’ve found an additional piece of one of the stories, you’ve completely forgotten where the last left off.

From what I remember, I think the head of the terrorist organization Cell is a zombie reporter who blew the whistle on The Agency. Or maybe I’m smashing all of them together, I don’t know.

It could be argued that story – not the story, but story in general – is supplemental to Crackdown 2. Do you really need to understand your character’s motivations for harpooning a criminal to a rusty pick-up truck and then throwing the truck into the ocean? Or what about when he climbed atop a car, stuck that car to a helicopter via magnetic mines, and then rode it into the sky? Why would he do such a crazy thing? Because it’s damn awesome, that’s why.

The biggest addition to the “story” is the addition of full-fledged freaks. I say full-fledged because they were introduced in the first game, as experiments of the Shai-Gen Corporation, but you didn’t see much of them. Now they flood the streets at night, attacking everyone in their path. They’re essentially zombies, which is a bad roll of the dice for Ruffian. Videogames have been completely oversaturated with the undead as of late and gamers are finally starting to get sick of them. But the freaks are a product of what little plot the series has, so Ruffian was just following through on what Realtime Worlds had started, not necessarily trying to cash in on the craze.

I can't see shit through this helmet. Did I hit em?

The core skills from Crackdown have been retained – strength, agility, firearms, explosives, and driving. There seem to be six skill levels on the meter, but I’m not sure if level six is truly more effective than level five from the first game or if it’s more of a “this one goes to 11″ type of deal. The weapon and vehicle unlocks top out at five and that’s also when you’ll gain the ability to glide. I didn’t get to spend much time gliding, but when I did I looked like a retarded Rocketeer. It definitely takes some time to get used to.

If you manage to pry yourself away from goofing around and focus on the actual objectives, you’ll be doing one of two things: assaulting Cell strongholds or activating Absorption Units so that you can assault underground freak lairs. Actually, I don’t think you have to take back the Cell strongholds to complete the game, but doing so gives you additional locations to call in weapons and vehicles. This is where the repetitiveness begins. Whichever task you’re performing, the objective is simply to kill everything in sight. To take back a stronghold, kill Cell until an Agency chopper can arrive. When clearing out a freak lair, kill freaks until the Agency beacon can detonate. Do these things over and over again until you beat the game.

There are also optional freak breaches, which sounds hilarious, I know. Freaks will occasionally breach the surface. When this happens, your job is to assault the freak breach until an Agency chopper can bomb it closed. See the pattern here? These are entirely optional, but also entirely unappealing. Why would you go out of your way to do more of the same?

Games can get away with monotony as long as the gameplay stays fun throughout, which sadly isn’t the case here. It’s definitely fun for a length of time – and I mean really fun – but that length of time is criminally short bursts. If you put the game down for a certain amount of time it will be fun again in the future, but eventually it will overstay its welcome completely.

Demi, what have you done?!

Another problem with the Cell stronghold/freak lair gameplay is a lack of any feeling of progression. The first Crackdown had its own problems with tedium, but the way you dismantled gangs before going after the gang leader was both fun and semi-strategic. Here, the only way you know you’re making any progress is pictures on the map and statistics on the pause menu. Pacific City is no different when you first start the game as it is when you’re on the cusp of beating it.

There are improvements made over the first game. Your arsenal, of both weapons and vehicles, has grown substantially. You now have access to plenty of shotguns, machine guns, SMGs, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and humongous weapons that belong on turrets, but you can go out into the field and just lug them around. There are plenty of explosives, including the aforementioned mag mines. Multiple mags will stick together, which does nothing when throwing them on solid fixtures, but when they’re stuck to cars and corpses there’s fun to be had. Our own Demi Adejuyigbe has a nasty habit of calling in Agency choppers and then sticking them to the ground, which gets us all yelled at by the Agency handler.

As for vehicles, not only is there plenty of Cell and civilian transportation, but the Agency alone gives you the standard cruiser, a buggy with a mounted machine gun, the speedy supercar returns, an SUV that can jump in the air, and a tank that you can unlock at level five. So yeah, when it comes to guns and cars, Ruffian delivered.

RAGE QUIT WARNING

I’d like to take a brief departure from the main review for a moment to share a couple things with you. I’m an angry person, and sometimes I get mad at videogames. I got mad at Crackdown 2 more than a few times, and here are the reasons why.

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!

I understand that your Agent is wearing half a ton of armor, but is it really that hard to get back up after you’ve fallen down? We’re talking about a super soldier who can punch a car in the face and send it flying backwards, but as soon as an explosion or a freak knocks him on his ass, he just lies there and contemplates giving up entirely. Seriously, it takes the better half of ten seconds to get back on your feet after you’ve been knocked down, which quickly adds up when it happens over, and over, and over again.

The dreaded building lip

Just like the first problem, this is another glorious holdover from the previous game. One of the coolest things to do in Crackdown 2 is take a running leap off of a high rooftop and sail to another, but far too often a concrete lip probably a half-inch tall will throw the whole thing off. They run around the edges of far too many surfaces in Pacific City and they’ll catch you and cause you to stop running at the last second before you leap, which results in you jumping straight up instead of forward. Since you’re already holding forward on the joystick, you’ll start to go over the side of the building, and if you aren’t quick enough to reverse direction and guide yourself back to the roof, you’ll plummet to the ground below.

Enough with the explosions

The rocket launchers in Crackdown have a pretty high rate of fire. That’s awesome, right? No it’s not. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You clearly haven’t been on the receiving end of a non-stop barrage of explosions that prevent you from doing pretty much everything except blindly shooting everywhere or jumping off of whatever roof you’re currently on to take your chances with the ground below. I’ll all for a challenge, but being trapped inside one continuous explosion is ridiculous.

You forgot to put the seat down, Agent!

Thanks a lot, Agent! Now my guests are going to think I’m a slob, Agent! I’m having close friends over, Agent, and I’d like them to remain friends. And why were you in my bathroom anyway, Agent? That’s my private bathroom, Agent, and it’s reserved for my personal use. You forgot to put the seat down, Agent! Thanks a lot, Agent! Now my guests are going to think I’m a slob, Agent!

STOP TALKING TO ME!!

Alright. I feel better. Now let’s get back to wrapping up this review.

The Nintendo Power Glove is unlocked at strength level five.

At first it was a little disappointing to be back in Pacific City, but it is undeniably cool to see the city in its current war-torn state. It doesn’t look as colorful and lively as before, but that’s the point. The city is within an inch of its life and its drab, dystopian look reflects the current state of affairs. Recognizing proud structures that are now piles of rubble is nostalgic in all the right ways.

One thing that is completely new about Crackdown 2 is the competitive multiplayer.

Rocket Tag is great if you’re hopped up on meth and don’t own Blur or Split/Second. In Rocket Tag, one person has gets the orb, becomes it, and everyone tries to tag that person. With rockets. Tag, you’re dead. It’s a mixed bad, because half the time you’ll either be raining hellfire down on whoever has the orb or running for your life from incoming rockets, both of which are extremely fun and exhilarating. The other half of the time you’ll be caught in an endless chain of explosions and it’ll be difficult to do so much as move. If you’re looking for quick, frantic fun, Rocket Tag provides. But like the main game, it works in very short bursts.

Team Deathmatch is where the fun is, though there isn’t that much. Deathmatch is also fun, but not so much as being on a team. For the most part, the Crackdown formula works well for multiplayer and Team Deathmatch is possibly more fun than the entire single player campaign, though that isn’t saying much. You can lock-on to enemies but you can’t sub-target, which is great, because that would make it far too easy. It actually works a lot like Grand Theft Auto in that you automatically target the center of mass and move your reticule around from there.

When I said the formula works well for the most part, it was because the action is still frantic and there were more than a few times where I died not knowing who or what killed me. This is not a game for strategy. This is where you stay on your toes and blow the shit out of every enemy you see, the second you see them. With no room for tactics, it can get old pretty fast. Also, if you see a helicopter, you lose the game. At least I think that’s how it works.

Multiplayer ultimately feels tacked on, but the core Crackdown formula is fun enough that it isn’t total garbage. You won’t be putting down any of your favorite multiplayer shooters, but if you have the game, it’s worth a spin. Just be prepared for a pretty shallow experience.

Crackdown 2 is an absolute blast when you’re just screwing around with friends. But as soon as you start to take it seriously, it falls apart. Any problem you had with the first game, unless it was a lack of weapons and vehicles, you’ll have again here. And taking on Cell strongholds and freak lairs just isn’t as fun as waging war on the gangs the first time around. Ruffian took everything that worked, everything that didn’t, and didn’t add nearly enough of their own.

The Rundown

+ Just like Crackdown
+ Unparalleled, mindless, open-world fun
- Just like Crackdown
- Zero depth
- Painfully repetitive, right down to the handler’s dialogue

Crackdown 2 was developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360, The game released in the United States on July 6th 2010 with a retail price of $60.00 USD (Xbox 360). The copies used in this review were for the Xbox 360 and provided to us as digital downloads by Microsoft. The main campaign was played to completion for the purpose of Dylan’s review. However, considering this title allows for four player co-op, here are the opinions of the three others who tagged along at various lengths.

Second Opinion

Stephanie Gutowski

I constantly crave story-driven, cinematic games. That’s probably why I never picked up the first Crackdown or any other sand box game. Crackdown 2, however, had just enough intrigue to keep me interested. No, I don’t think there’s much complexity in the plot (it’s about as basic as it gets: The Agency is good and Cell is bad), but that’s not what this is about. Open worlds are for blowing up your friends and playing tennis with their cars. This is going to be the game you play when you’ve got a few buddies online and you’re hankering to blow up a helicopter. Sure, it’ll get old after a while, but the first few times are completely worth it.

I’m also a huge fan of the aspect level system, where your abilities evolve based on how you fight. There’s a huge difference between agility level one and two and it makes all your effort seem worthwhile when your progression actually rewards you with greater running speed and better jump capabilities. It just seems like after you finally ding level two in all your skills, the leveling slows to a crawl. Sure, you can dive back into the main story missions, but that’s only so entertaining. Especially when a lot of your objectives involve infiltrating Cell strongholds, activating a beacon, and running away. Rinse, repeat, go to bed. The repetition really starts to wear on you during the solo experience, but a couple of friends can make this much more entertaining.

There’s just enough content in here to keep you going, if only to see what new abilities levels four and five have in store for you. I see this as a decent single-player experience, but the real fun is in the co-op.

Third Opinion?!

(Everyone’s a critic)

Demi Adejuyigbe

The game has you detonate nine beacons that destroy “freaks” around the city, and when you try to plow through these detonations, you start to feel like it’s more of a chore than anything fun you would do out of pure will. Around the time you detonate the fourth beacon, you’ll find yourself realizing that you’re doing the same thing over and over, though Ruffian tries to trick you into thinking things are different because the Cell soldiers and freaks are getting tougher – this isn’t the case. While they may seem like they’re getting more difficult, they’re actually just getting upgraded with a few weapons from your previous arsenal, and in fact are still pretty easy to get rid of.

Crackdown 2′s multiplayer experiences, while complimentary to the single player mode of the game, feel as if it’s the main course. Sure, the two are technically one and the same, as any single player game can become multiplayer if another player jumps in, but playing the game co-operatively actually opens up a variety of new things you can do together that would be near impossible to achieve alone. The game even encourages you to play co-operatively with Xbox Live orbs that can only be gained with another player, but Crackdown 2 doesn’t really make you feel like grabbing these orbs is at all necessary.

I’ve always said that graphics aren’t integral to how good or enjoyable a game is, but with Crackdown 2, they don’t seem to have changes at all. The faux-cell-shading style remains, but the explosions look much less grandiose and impressive than they did in the first game. An explosion is essentially now a puff of black smoke surrounding a cloud of orange. You see the same three styles of cars in different colors every few seconds. There’s not much variety amongst enemies, and buildings, while actually different, all start to blend together after a while.

Unfortunately for anyone who hopes to enjoy some four-player co-op in the game, the co-op experience of the game is possibly the buggiest multiplayer experience I’ve had on Xbox Live. As is to be expected, whenever you are in an area of incredibly heavy fire and explosions, you start to experience a frame rate slow down that makes it difficult to move or see where you are moving.

Believe it or not, that’s the least of Crackdown’s bugs. The first time I jumped into a game with four other editors, we ended up in a Cell stronghold where for some reason, sniper rifles began to generate instantly – forever. I’m not sure what triggered this bug, but when we ended up in an area where you have hundreds upon thousands of rifles generating every second, the game slowed down to a speed of 4 FPS. It was literally impossible to move without extracting and landing elsewhere, far from the stronghold. We also encountered bugs where cars would end up in different parts of the city while we drove them, and players would get stuck mere inches off of the ground, unable to move anywhere.

This machine gun mounted buggy has got plenty of Crackdown 2 bugs to keep it company.

That’s not to say that the co-op play in Crackdown 2 isn’t a metric ton of fun. The tools Ruffian Games gives you for enacting inadvertent mischief in Pacific City are incredible, and honestly, some of my favorite weapons in video games to date. From the very second you start the game, you are given access to a magnet grenade that has the ability to pull together any two items in the game, and this can be used to creatively kill enemies … or friends.

Leveling up a bit also gives you the UV shotgun, which is probably the best gun I’ve used in any video game since Half-Life 2′s gravity gun. It allows you to propel any item or human in the air i.e. Half-Life’s gravity gun, but when you have an open world, magnets, explosions, and large cars (and helicopters!) that you can throw at your enemies, the possibilities are endless. Hell, I recently detailed two of the ways that I had fun with the helicopters in the game , and I’ve already found more.

I wish Crackdown 2′s assisted targeting mechanic would allow you to target your friends, though. As weird as it sounds, some of the most fun we had in four-player co-op play was when we wailed on each other, blowing each other off of rooftops and playing UV Shotgun Tennis with Stephanie — which you can get an achievement for (even if you don’t have access to Stephanie). And speaking of achievements, many of them are easily attained, though some are near impossible to grab without a friend. I had already grabbed most on the demo, but the achievements in the full game are much more focused on plot advancement. (Despite the secondary plot that Crackdown 2 tries to shoehorn in).

It’s too bad the game doesn’t try to make you accomplish these achievements together. As it stands now, if you jump into a game where someone else is completing objectives while you’re idle, you will still get credit for them. While I’m not sure how difficult it would be to ensure that these missions are done together, leaving something like this out of the multiplayer kind of defeats the purpose of co-operation.

I'd love to hit you with a mid air punch, but I'm unfortunately incapable of performing melee attacks while jumping.

Aside from the co-op, Crackdown 2 also features 3 different multiplayer modes in which you can fight with up to 16 players, but these matches aren’t as enjoyable as you’d think. The first game I jumped into was Rocket Tag, which was fast and frenetic, and very reminiscent of Unreal Tournament. I hated it. The speed at which you run and shoot meant that explosions went off literally twice a second, which made it hard to keep up in the maps. That is, if you can play it at all. It’s just as buggy as the main game, and trying to connect and stay with a game is probably the hardest thing to accomplish.

The two Deathmatch modes, while better than Rocket Tag, lose their excitement early on. The Deathmatch formula isn’t messed with much, and the addition of speed makes it both hard to kill your enemies and easy to die. When you die every few seconds (and you most likely will), you’ll start to hate the game you’re playing. Plus, the mix of high buildings and low grounds makes Deathmatch absolutely terrible. You start to shoot somebody as they’re running and they can instantly move behind a building and disappear out of sight. After a few times, you’ll start to get annoyed with the not-so-multiplayer-friendly world design.

The one thing I’m sure you’ll hear about Crackdown 2 is how repetitive it is- and it is. It’s incredibly repetitive, to the point where you will think “Wait, haven’t I cleared this area yet?” over and over. If you’ve played the original game, going back to the same city will feel just like you’re playing the original game with an expansion pack. Sure, you’re getting flashier weapons and skills, and a new underlying “plot” (and I use the term in the loosest way possible) but unless you skipped the first game, Crackdown 2 will just feel like a shell upon its predecessor.

I feel like I have to reiterate this again, as I’ve mostly criticized the game, but the game is a lot of fun. While it has a bunch of glaring faults, it’s hard to cast dispersion on a game that honestly, I have and am enjoying quite a bit. That said, if you are hankering for some fun (but currently buggy) co-op multiplayer, you should probably pick up Crackdown 2- especially if you can get it less for the $60 retail price.

Oh, and fuck those agility orbs.

What? A Fourth Opinion??!!??

Chad Lakkis

Would you like to blow shit up with me? If you answered yes, then read on.

I must say, as the resident Crackdown 2 homer in this group, I love Crackdown for what the game truly is at it’s core — a great way to pass time with a long distance friend (or friends). Of course these friends don’t have to be “long distance,” but it’s my opinion that the game is at it’s best when you’re running around mindlessly in a giant virtual sandbox, collecting orbs, talking shit on your headset, and blowing up a bunch of friends you aren’t able to see every day.

The reason I stress the long distance aspect, is partly because I got into the first Crackdown right around the time my friend moved to the west coast, and it was a great way for us to stay in touch. It was very much like an interactive phone call, and the mindlessness of it all is what separated it from it’s competition. You might be thinking “how the hell is something being mindless a good thing?” Well, when all you want to do is enjoy the virtual company of some friends, the best way to do that is to be in an environment conducive to doing so. The fact that nothing in Crackdown or Crackdown 2 really poses a threat to you is a positive in my book. Sure it would be nice to occasionally have the “raid boss” of sorts, that if encountered, would demand the full attention of your co-op party, but outside that the game is little more than a means to level your character, taunt your friends, and run away before they get you back.

You want examples? No problem.

No actual Stephanies were harmed while playing this game.

One of the first things I did the moment I got into the four player co-op with Dylan, Demi, and Stephanie, was seek out the amusement park. I then challenged Dylan to climb to the top where I was already perched. And after he did, I kicked him in the face and knocked him down for shits and giggles. Conversely, one of the first things Dylan did in the game was drive the pickup truck I was standing in the back of into the ocean, ejecting himself at the last possible moment. Why? Because we could. It’s events like this in a game like Crackdown (1 and 2) that could never be scripted, and it’s why any attempt at a plot is darn near futile.

While fun in its own right, the multiplayer addition to the game attempts to build on the co-op aspect that made the original Crackdown so much fun. However adding a bunch of strangers to the mix waters down the close-knit feeling, and turns it into a much more generic experience. The fact that it uses the same world map you use for campaign mode doesn’t help either. A little multiplayer specific map variety would go a long way here.

Overall, the ability to play co-op with four friends in Crackdown 2 (as opposed to two in the original), is probably the biggest non-multiplayer addition to the game. There is an added emphasis to plot and presentation, and the world itself does get a bit of a visual overhaul, but none of these aspects alone truly set the sequel apart from the original. The game is also a bit buggy at times, though I’m sure the developers will work hard to fix any and all bugs the game currently contains.

In short, if you’re looking for a great way to pass some time with two or three of your friends, and are open to the notion of blowing up a few multiplayer agents in the process, Crackdown 2 is at the very least worth a rental.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Coming to Xbox Live August 4th

Demi Adejuyigbe — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:30:19 +0000

You know what platformer I cannot stand? Castle-fucking-vania. Now don’t get me wrong- it’s entertaining. The games are usually fun when you get the hang of it, and even though many of them feel indistinguishable, Castlevania developers have done a great job of working in the genre. But that’s not why I can’t stand the series.

I can’t stand it because it’s as hard as a fucking steel sack of bricks.

I have literally never beaten a Castlevania game, despite my many attempts to do so, and I’m starting to think that I am just bad at video games because I can’t do it. I either get stuck, or can’t jump over a certain spot, or outrun a wall that’s closing down on me or something. As a matter of fact, more often than not, I end up shutting down the console (or handheld) in a fury, proclaiming that I will never ever play another game in the series because I have the unreasonable expectation of being able to beat it. But I am done, damn it! I am not picking up another Castlevania game until my IQ and willpower both increase a couple hundred points.

Okay, now what was I saying? Oh right- Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is coming to Xbox Live on August 4th, complete with six player co-op, leaderboards, and a Survival Mode. I can’t wait to play it. [Destructoid[

Ripten Review: Toy Story 3: The Video Game, To Infinity And…

Bryce Wilson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:58:28 +0000

Can you believe it has been over ten years since Toy Story 2 graced cinemas and homes the globe over? I had a think about it and it feels quite surreal. Well Toy Story 3 is here, and is already making a truck load of money, so why not cash in on that even more? Well that’s what we’re here to discuss today, Toy Story 3: The Video Game.

Released on practically every platform known to man, Toy Story 3: The Video Game (TS3 from here on out) is a platformer giving players three characters to use. Sherriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie from Toy Story 2 all return as playable characters, each with their own special ability that comes into use through the various levels. Woody can use his pull string to fly across gaps and holes Indiana Jones style, Buzz can pick other characters up and throw them across large distances and Jessie can balance on small ledges like darts lodged into walls.

Like it should, the game follows the plot of the move throughout a series of nine levels that are accessed on a board game style menu. Then as a side mission of sorts players have access to something called “Toybox Mode”. In this section of the game players have access to a huge area in which they can build a city and modify nearly everything about it. It’s not just that though, as located within the city is a bunch of reoccurring mini quests that reward the player with money, as well as access to a bunch of new items to dress their citizens in. There is also various areas in the Toybox Mode, my favourite being one where you get to harness the destructive power of a dragon to break through new areas you could previously not explored.

With these coins you can also buy whole new buildings, which then in turn unlock new quests and give you even more fun. It’s easy to play Toybox Mode for hours on end, and I think that is a testament to Avalanche Software as they went into the creation of Toybox Mode trying to recreate that feeling of being a kid and just making anything you want with your toys. That’s not to say the single player story element isn’t engaging, as it is, and possibly one of the more fun story modes I have played of late. All the levels look faithful to their movie counterparts, and the Buzz Lightyear section is something I recommend everyone to check out.

When looking at the game play of TS3 something everyone should keep in mind is that this game is obviously targeted towards little kids, and as such is obviously not going to offer a huge difficulty curve or anything challenging for seasoned video game veterans. That being said, there is still some difficult moments that I don’t understand how little kids could even complete them. Taker the above Buzz Lightyear section in which players recreate the opening scenes of Toy Story 3. One part of the level sees you jumping across a large expanse of land on nothing else but tiny broken pieces of ground, and basically every time you move more and more of the level breaks. It was even leaving me frustrated.

Everything is fun though, and there wasn’t any gripes I had with the game play as such, but more so the controls. As with most platformers, movement is controlled with the left stick and camera angles are controlled with the right. But the environments of TS3 are generally tight, and as such the camera often goes out of control, forcing you off of ledges and often forcing you to lose a few minutes of progress. Now when this happens multiple times over it becomes a major annoyance. Another control based issue I found was targeting and movement. During the Buzz Lightyear section you can’t aim your weapon and move at the same time. Now revert this back to being a kids game, and the fact at times there is five or six enemies chipping away at sizable portions of your health bar, and once again you have a problem. It feels like with the right TS3 does, it backs that up with noticeable, and quite bad wrongs.

Sound wise in a movie based game the first thing you’re going to look for is voice acting, and luckily TS3 delivers. Most of the cast did voice work for the game, and as such we aren’t left with a B grade over the phone job. The game has a nice upbeat soundtrack that doesn’t get overly annoying or repetitive, and at times you really forget it is even there. Mix this in with the various vocal quips the characters throw in at spontaneous times and TS3 really delivers.

Something I thought was very well done was the environmental sounds and music, and graphics. Everything looks great in this game, and the musical score matches the environments you’re in perfectly. The game presents that vibrant and young bouncy look that the movies have, giving a really nice looking graphical appearance and feel.

The one level I keep referring to is the Buzz Lightyear one, as it really does display some great looking moments and sounds. You’re running across an open expanse, meteors hurtling from the atmosphere casting scorch marks across the ground in front of you. It all sounds good on paper, and looks even better in person. The characters all look brilliant and as authentic as they could without being in the move themselves, which really helps draw the player into the game.

Many people are going to wonder how much playtime will they actually get out of the game, and the answer is plenty. I won’t lie, the main story can be whipped through in about four to five hours, but the real playtime is in Toybox Mode, as you can literally do anything you want, for as long as you want. The missions open up periodically, which actually gives it a feel very similar to Red Dead Redemption or any of the Grand Theft Auto series. It is easy to play Toybox Mode just for fun find yourself coming back time and time again.

In closing, Toy Story 3: The Video Game is an enjoyable experience even for myself at nearly twenty years of age. Avalanche Software has done a brilliant job at crafting perhaps the first move-to-game experience I have played and not been left feeling disappointed. I recommend it to everyone, especially if you have fond memories of waking up and just playing with your toys for hours on end. Also, if you own a Playstation 3 and you get a copy of this game you get to play as Zurg. Lucky sly dogs!

The Rundown:

+ Possibly one of the best movie-to-game ports made
+ Hours of play in the Toybox Mode
- Clunky controls and problematic camera
- Difficulty really makes me wonder if kids could pass it

Toy Story 3: The Video Game was developed by Avalance Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the PC, Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation Portable, Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3. The game released in the United States on June 15th 2010 with a retail price of $50.00 USD (Xbox 360). The copy used in this review was for the Xbox 360 and sent to us by THQ. The game was played to completion for the purpose of this review. Specs of the review kit are as follows; Xbox 360 Arcade with 60GB HD, Samsung P2350 23″ HD Monitor (1920×1080), Tritton AX720 Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Headset.

Super Mario Bros. Crossover Now With Ryu Hayabusa

Bryce Wilson — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:31:30 +0000

Have you ever thought while playing Mario how much easier it would be if you could just ninja star your way through every little puny Goomba that got in your way? Well one guy certainly did, so he made it a reality. “Hey game, that’s your cue!”.

Super Mario Bros. Crossover is the culmination of hours of work by game designer Jay Pavlina from Exploding Rabbit. As the name implies this game does feature quite a number of crossovers that aren’t just limited to Ninja Gaiden superstar Ryu, so do any of the following take your gaming fancy?

Ryu Hayabusa, Link from Zelda, Mega Man, Samus Aran from the Metroid series, Mario, Simon and then there is Simon and Bill R, and I don’t have a clue what games they’re from! If you want to give the game a playthrough click here and enjoy.

E310 Hands-On Preview: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, The One You’ve Been Waiting For

Dave Oshry — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:04:51 +0000

Let’s face it, Castlevania has never successfully made the transition from 2D to 3D. While Konami continues to release great 2D incarnations of Castlevania across multiple platforms, it’s safe to say that almost every attempt at a 3D Castlevania … has flopped. However, it’s our opinion, that all of that is about to change. We got hands on with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow at E3 2010, and we’re here to tell you that so far, it looks so good.

First and foremost, introductions are in order. Meet Gabriel Belmont and The Lords of Shadow in this “epic” E3 2010 trailer. And yes, that is Sir Patrick Stewart you’re hearing amongst the rest of the great voice acting in this game.

Very epic, very dark, very … Kojima? That’s right, Hideo Kojima, of Metal Gear Solid fame, has been involved with overseeing Lords of Shadow from day one. That may explain the added cinematic flair and dramatic overtones . Not that I mind, as far as I’m concerned Kojima is, and always has, equaled “win.”

Now, of course we have our share of doubts, but after getting our hands on Lords of Shadow, it was hard to deny how damn good this game looked and played. See for yourself.

I get the feeling there's monsters in there.

Baby, don't look at me like that. No, seriously! You're freaking me out.

The bigger they are ...

The game looks incredible and will get obvious comparisons to God of War 3 and the like, due to it’s visuals and similar style of play. The cinematic flair is only compounded upon by the intense and visceral combat which makes good ‘ol fashioned Belmont whip cracking a more enjoyable experience than ever.

Konami has not made the controls overly difficult or overly simplified for that matter. You simply chain together attacks and grabs to rack up menacing, brutal and bloody kills. The whole experience makes for some very fast paced, gory gameplay which will keep you on your toes with your eyes peeled to the screen for all 25+ hours of promised gameplay. Watch below as I take on the first boss of Lords of Shadow right on the floor during E3 2010.

Are you not entertained!? Stick with us for more updates on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as it approaches its Fall 2010 release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Darksiders 2 Confirmed For 2012: More Horsepower On The Way

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:25:00 +0000

One of my highest rated and most enjoyable games from 2010, Darksiders, has been given the green light for a sequel by THQ with an expected release some time in 2012. The original focused on the story of War, one of The The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, while the sequel is slated to introduce the other three; Strife, Death, and Fury.

THQ Core Games Vice President, Danny Bilson, commented on the game’s status at a recent THQ E3 analyst meeting on June 15th:

“Darksiders 2 is coming. We’ve green lit that. It’s well into production now, it’s two years out from now.”

With hopes from THQ for a sequel that outsells the impressive/unexpected numbers of the original, fans like myself will just have to wait and see if Vigil Games can build on the foundation they created without straying too far away from what made Darksiders great.

If you haven’t played the Darksiders yet, you are doing yourself a disservice.

E310 Preview: Lara Croft: Guardian of Light, The Real Tomb Raider

Danielle Cantrell — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:32:09 +0000

Lara Croft: Guardian of Light is not a Tomb Raider game, and although it does share a protagonist with the series, the differences outnumber the similarities.

Firstly, co-op is available on the new game. The way the characters interact with each other is similar to Gauntlet, especially with the changes that have been made for the perspective of the game.

It almost felt like I was playing an RTS when controlling Lara as opposed to the normal close range third-person gameplay that the typical Tomb Raiders have had. Not only does this result in better puzzles, but it makes the game feel more like tomb raiding. I actually think it’s ironic that this one is named after the main character, since it focuses more on tomb raiding than the games named for it.

Being far away from Lara makes it easier to see the environments as well, and is better for puzzle-solving and easier to tell exactly where to go. The environments are more detailed, and even with an early build of the game, it was much more impressive than the Tomb Raider games.

Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will be released later this year on the XBOX LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC.

SEGA on Sonic 4′s Leaks and Franchise Critics

David Oxford — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:42:42 +0000

Needless to say, eyes both critical and skeptical have been cast toward SEGA’s development of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 ever since it was first announced last year.

And rightfully so, some would say, as it seems that any goodwill fans of the blue blur had harbored toward the company has gradually waned following the release of the Sonic Adventure titles on SEGA’s ill-fated final platform, the Dreamcast. And even those games have come to receive an ever-growing buildup of criticism since their release.

So naturally, as SEGA now seems to be trying their humble best to bring back the Sonic fondly remembered by those who grew up on the original Genesis titles, it is understandable that they would be more than a little upset that the incomplete fruits of their labor were leaked out into the harsh waters of the fan community, where harsh criticism was sure to be plentiful:

“It’s unfortunate that such an early build of Sonic 4 was made more public than we liked,” Sonic 4 brand manager Ken Baloughs explained to Destructoid.

“We do want fan feedback and part of the extended development is to incorporate a lot of the feedback we’ve gotten. We do want to hear it a lot, but we want to hear the right feedback. A lot of fans saw a build that was so early on that we’ve moved well beyond it. It’s sort of like giving feedback on a concept car instead of the actual prototype, so while some of the criticism was relevant, a lot of it wasn’t anymore, which is unfortunate because we want to hear what fans have to say.”

As seen in the video above, perhaps the most viciously attacked part of the leaked Sonic 4 was the inclusion of a tilt-controlled mine cart level. Following the public outcry, SEGA has made sure to let fans know that such “innovations” will be relegated to platforms where it may fly better, platforms such as the iPhone.

“Yeah it’s a shame such an early concept was viewed upon when the reality is that the game we have today is very different from that,” Baloughs explained. “My job as brand manager is to communicate with the consumer, letting them know how we react to this feedback. We took it very seriously that our build had been stolen and took measures with first party to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, but more than anything we want to lay to rest fan concerns that the game isn’t polished or doesn’t have what it needs and I think a big part of that message was extending the development and making sure that fans feel like they’ve been heard because they have been.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 has since been delayed to a later part of 2010, and when asked whether or not this was related to what could be called “the mine cart incident,” Baloughs gave no more than a smiling nod.

With that said, response to the version of the game on display at E3 last week has been largely favorable, and it seems that unlike their 2006 attempt to reinvigorate the franchise for this generation, SEGA is determined to get it right. “[F]ans have been demanding this game for a long long time and obviously we’re in the business of giving fans what they want,” Baloughs told Destructoid.

“The other thing is we had the right team in place at the right time,” he said, explaining why it had taken SEGA so long to “give fans what they want.” “We have a group of people that have an incredible passion for Sonic that goes back years. We on the team grew up with Sonic on the Genesis and this is a project that we’ve been wanting to make so we just thought ‘yes, our new project is Sonic 4.’”

They seem quite confident that this new title will resonate with fans, even those who have become ever-critical of the franchise since the days Sonic tussled with Mario over who was the King of Console Gaming. Balough’s response to those who have felt there is no redemption for Mr. Needlemouse?

“We’re making Sonic 4,” he said with a smirk.

E310 Preview: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Chad Lakkis — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:08:34 +0000

We had a chance to see Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions in action up close and personal courtesy of our behind-closed-doors session with the game’s Creative Director, Thomas Wilson, of Beenox Studios. Wilson gave us a tour of the three announced dimensions, confirming a bit of what we already knew, and revealing a little that we didn’t.

First off, the game looked great up close. We didn’t get any hands-on time (that as well as the fourth and final dimension reveal will come at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego) but the extended footage we saw was every bit as good as what has already been released to the public, and the slew of questions we got to ask didn’t hurt either.

The thought process behind this take on the franchise, as explained by Thomas himself, was to take a “fresh” approach to the Spider-Man game experience. Shattered Dimensions’ plot revolves around a Tablet of Order and Chaos that becomes … well, it shatters. Those pieces then scatter across four distinct dimensions and fall into the hands of thirteen of Spider-Mans most hated rivals giving each of them enhanced powers. You won’t do things like rush home to Mary Jane, haggle with J. Jonah Jameson over a pay check, or drive your Aunt May to the grocery store, as Thomas made it clear that this story is very focused on the events surrounding the tablet in each dimension. If that revelation upsets you, look at the bright side — it also means we won’t have to chase down stray balloons for crying kids. Feel better now?

Beenox went back and forth with Marvel to gain approval on several creative changes they made for the game that they hope will make it a unique addition to the ever growing Spider-Man portfolio. The one’s we know of at this point involve two character additions to dimensions that they otherwise did not exist in. Hammerhead was added to the Noir universe (and when you think about it that really makes sense), and a gadget laden high tech version of the Hob Goblin was thrown into the Spider-Man 2099 dimension. I had no problems with either.

Gameplay varies in Shattered Dimensions based on the dimension you play in. For example, the Amazing version of Spidey utilizes his webs to make various weapons, while the Noir Spidey uses stealth, shadows, and close quarters combat. The most recently announced Spider-Man 2099 is limited by shorter web shot distances but excels at high speed aggressive combat which Thomas described as being much like a “Brazilian fighting style with claws and kicks.”

The Noir portion retells the origin of Spidey with a 1950s twist, and the level revealed thus far pits Spidey against a muscle bound Green Goblin inside of an amusement park at night. Guns will do a lot more damage in this universe and for that reason you will need to be very careful and play things out as stealthily as possible to survive. I had previously thought that there would be some sort of transparent cloaking for Spider-Man Noir based on a few stills we took from his first person fighting sequence, but Thomas explained that the transparent effect we saw there was done to make the close up combat a little easier on the eyes.

The Amazing dimension features a Spider-Man character that relies on his acrobatics, long reach, and a creative use of webbing to mold various objects such as “hammers, maces, and giant fists.” The level revealed for this dimension pits Spidey against an enhanced version of Kraven the Hunter complete with cat like reflexes and speed. We were told that this level revolves around Spidey being captured by Kraven and taken into his jungle, at which point it becomes your mission to track Kraven across his home turf with several mini encounters along the way.

The third dimension was clarified as being more of an alternate or future reality, and that is Spider-Man 2099, which takes takes place in future version of New York (Thomas called it something fancy but considering he struggled to say it, I won’t even attempt to try and spell it). The buildings in this New York of tomorrow are massive, in fact they are so massive that they flirt with being unbelievable. But their exaggerated height makes for the perfect fit, as the only 2099 level revealed thus far revolves around base jumping. You’ll use your accelerated vision (which slows things down) and series of double-fisted web yanks to propel you forward at high speeds in pursuit of a pumpkin bomb throwing Hob Goblin decked out with more hardware than your local Home Depot. Once in close, this Spidey will rely on the quick chaining of talents and attacks to take out his enemies.

Upon asking him, Thomas clarified that while base jumping is a big part of the 2099 dimension, it is not the only gameplay style available to Spider-Man 2099. He also mentioned that the 2099 iteration of Hob Goblin was “created by another villain that they have yet to mention.” I’m not exactly sure who that might be, but you’re free to chime in with a few guesses in the comments section below.

I was also able to confirm that each Spider-Man will have his own version of the classic Spider Sense that varies slightly based on their dimension. Amazing will be able to see through walls to detect interactive objects and enemy health status. Noir can see in the dark, which is great considering you’ll be spending most of your time in the shadows. And Spider-Man 2099 benefits from an accelerated vision that gives the illusion of slowing down high speed objects.

Art design varies from dimension to dimension as well. The Noir dimension was described to us as having a very “Frank Miller” style with an ever changing color palette that desaturated when you are in the shadows and comes back to life when the moment you exit them. The Amazing dimension is much closer to the classic Spidey comics most of us grew up reading. Thomas described this dimension as having more of a “nostalgic pen and ink treatment with hard edges and black outlines.” The 2099 dimension goes for a more “slick and futuristic” aiming for a sensory overload of sorts.

While Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions won’t be the open-world sandbox type game we’ve become accustomed to as of late, Thomas assured me that each level will still have an open feel to it, much like we saw in Batman: Arkham Asylum. You’ll be able to use your web to both swing and zip yourself to various locations, and you’ll also be able to backtrack to an extent much like you could while making your way around Arkham, with the primary difference being that this game is much more level based. One clear advantage of this approach is that we will ideally be able to experience a variety of locations with very little downtime between each.

As far as voice talent for each, Christopher Daniel Barnes is slated to play Spider-Man Noir and the talented Dan Gilvezan, responsible for voicing Spidey in the 1980s cartoon “Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends”, is set to play Spider-Man 2099. No information was revealed regarding the actor set to breathe life into the voice box of the already announced Amazing Spider-Man, but as long as it’s not Tobey Maguire I think we’ll all be fairly happy with the reveal. In fact, I’ll take Tobey in Spider-Man 1 and 2, but his effort in 3 was borderline at best.

Dan Gilvezan voice work in the Spider-Man 2099 Reveal E3 2010 Trailer

You can power-up in Shattered Dimensions by collecting “spider essence”, and that essence can be collected by doing various in-game challenges via the game’s “Web of Destiny” system or by simply killing the enemies you encounter along the way. However, while enemy kills will earn you this essence, the fastest way to rack it up is by completing the challenges in each level. The essence you collect will then be used to update your character’s moves. I asked how many move upgrades gamers could expect to see in Shattered Dimensions, and Thomas stressed the word “a lot” when responding.

My next question was regarding the game’s replay value. I specifically wanted to know if there would be any bonuses granted to those interested in playing the game a second or third time after their first full completion. Thomas emphatically answered “yes.” adding, “it was really important for us to have that sticky quality to the game.” He went on to explain that while he couldn’t get into specifics, there will be various bonuses offered depending on factors such as the difficulty used during your initial play through.

I new that Thomas couldn’t comment on the fourth dimension directly, so I asked if it would be okay for me to share my thoughts with him on it instead. He was game. As a long time Spider-Man follower who happens to own every issue from 1963 up (in a secure vault) I guessed that the final dimension had something to do with Venom and the alien symbiote. He smiled and said “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to stick around for Comic-Con.” I thanked him for his time, and as I was about to walk away he stopped me and said “I think you’re going to like what you’re going to see [at Comic-Con]“, to which I responded “that’s good enough.”

That’s it for our E3 2010 Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions preview. You had better believe we will be ready to cover this as well as all the other fun stuff Comic-Con has in store for us nerds just a few short weeks from now. We’ll also be conducting a full interview with Thomas Wilson that will hit the site before then, so feel free to sound off or ask a few questions in the comments section below that you’d like to see us throw his way.

RipTen Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Rangebar Merani — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 09:12:56 +0000

I didn’t get my copy of Super Mario Galaxy 2 until the week of E3, so please accept my apology for being a little late to the review party. Anyways, I’m here to tell you how Nintendo’s iconic plumber is back with a very important message for gamers — and that is, having fun is the key to a great game.

SMG2 retains the same concept of guiding Mario in his quest to rescue Princess Peach by running and jumping through different unique worlds, collecting coins, stomping on enemies, and defeating bosses, including Bowser. But like its predecessor, it does all of those things in a modern way, both with its use of 3D environments and the ability to create unexpected adventures with the Wii.

I can’t even recall how many times throughout Super Mario Galaxy 2 that I smiled just because of how awesome certain parts were. That became a recurring feeling as I was astonished by the great level design in the game with all sorts of shapes and gravity shifts. Just like the original, the levels play tricks a player’s traditional sense of up and down. The game has all sorts of flips, twists, and turns that Mario can run around on.

One of the game’s biggest strengths is how easy it is to pick up and play SMG2. The the Wiimote and Nunchuk feel comfortable here and Mario responds efficiently. In the original Galaxy, Motion control wasn’t that big of a factor and was used primarily for gathering star sprites, however, in the sequel it’s used a bit more often. For example, there is one part that you have to balance Mario on top of a giant ball around the level, holding the Wiimote straight up just like it was Mario. These simple examples of the game make it just that much more enjoyable, something we always expect from a Mario game.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 plays with a pacing that makes it both fun in the moment, but in a freakishly good way, is still on my mind when I’m done playing for the time. Mario’s new suits like the cloud suit, which lets him create his own platforms, allow for experimentation and pleasing experiences. And let’s not forget to mention Yoshi’s return, which totally adds another dimension of play with unique levels, especially those where he eats different fruits that give him powers, like the spicy fruit that gives him a “hot” sprint boost.

But those are just the most obvious examples. Seemingly every level has some new trick to it, with only a few old, familiar dynamics returning, like balancing on top of a sphere containing a star. These ideas are normally just exclusive to just one or two levels, like Mario hurling himself from bar to bar like a gymnast or gliding in the sky with a bird. Same goes for the boss fights, which are totally new and are all fun. I don’t want to go into too much detail, as Nintendo and plenty of others have already given away too much about what makes the game so special.

The SMG2 production is just as big and bold as it was in the original. Along with some of the best visuals the Wii has ever seen, the SMG2 soundtrack is even more intense with far more orchestral and studio recordings than the last game. It all makes up for the fact that this is just another simple fight against Bowser who’s, once again, kidnapped Princess Peach.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a spectacular and extremely fulfilling game, however, the only complaint I have is that it’s still a lot like the original. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as both are great games, but I guess I wanted a bit more from SMG2. That being said, the title is still a must have for every Mario fan and Wii owner. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a delightful title for anyone who wants to pick up and play, and it’s still enough of a challenge for those Mario pros out there. In short, SMG2 is yet another great Mario title from Miyamoto.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Wii. The game was released in the United States on May 18th with with a retail price of $49.99 USD. The copy used in this review was supplied by Nintendo. The game was played through 25 stars, with roughly 10 hours of game time.

New Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Box Art, Screens, & Amazon Pre-Order Bonus Info Released

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:01:04 +0000

Ever wish you could suit up Spider-Man in some Iron Man inspired armor? Me neither, but the Amazon exclusive pre-order bonus for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will allow you to do just that.

In addition to a tight-fitting red and yellow garb, those who pre-order the multi-dimensional Spidey game from Amazon will also get an art book loaded with character renders, environmental designs, and concept art. Check out the 360 and PS3 box art and Iron Man Spidey screens below.

For more information on Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, head on over to our information round up page, or view everything we’ve got on the game right here.

Ancients of Ooga Release Date Pushed Back

Bryce Wilson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:20:52 +0000

With an off-the-wall title like “Ancients of Ooga”, no wonder people are clamoring to get their hands on the game. Unfortunately, the Xbox LIVE Arcade platformer, being produced by NinjaBee and J Kenworthy Entertainment, has been delayed.

Being dubbed the “spiritual successor” to Cloning Clyde, an Xbox LIVE Arcade hit, Ancients of Ooga gives players the chance to occupy the shoes of an “Oogani.” A strange creature that Brent Fox, Co-owner and Art Director of Ninja Bee describes as being “quirky, bizarre, and at times borderline foul”.

Originally meant for launch on June 16th, the second day of E3 2010, Ninja Bee’s 8th studio title has now been pushed back to the 30th of June. The delay was decided upon when it became clear that the team needed additional time to iron out a few kinks. When quizzed about the delay, John Nielson, founder of J. Kenworthy Entertainment replied:

“We put every effort into making Ancients of Ooga as fun and high quality as we possibly could, we feel confident that people are going to love it when they try it and it would be such a shame for it to disappear amongst the chaos of the E3 excitement without anyone ever having a chance to see it. The two week wait seemed an obvious right choice.”

True as that may be, I’m sure no company embraces the notion of watching title they’ve been working on get left in the dust amidst the tornado of excitement that is E3.