In January of 2012 I found a game on Steam called Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon by Vicious Cycle Software. One of my friends previously owned the game on console and was raving about it nonstop, so I thought I would give it a try. Well, after trying it out for myself, let me say that I am both surprised and disappointed. What surprised me the most was how good the combat actually was. Honestly, I was really expecting nothing more than another rehashed modern day arcade shooter. Instead, what I received was a 3rd-person shooter that allowed me the unexpected freedom to navigate and shoot in a limited open-world environment. Another great thing about the game is the way the story was presented. In terms of atmosphere, one of the best things about this game was the fact that It made me feel like I was in the middle of a Science Fiction B-movie from the 60′s.

Another thing I definitely I liked about the game was the fact that it wasn’t a hallway shooter filled with 5 minutes of game play broken up by cutscenes after each objective. Each level in EDF:IA is huge, fully destructible, and open ended enough that I was able to change and go through different routes to accomplish the same goal. These three factors add more to the game in terms of tactics than any other modern shooter, making this game more than just a ‘simple’ arcade shooter.Customization with each of the classes was another thing I enjoyed. There are 4 classes to choose from: Jet Armor, Tactical Armor, Trooper Armor, and Battle Armor. Each class has their own upgrade system and weapons that can be used, with a ton of weapons for each that you can unlock by two methods: Playing the game and leveling up, or by earning credits that can be spent to unlock more weapons. Like any game with classes, each has pros and cons, so choosing the right weapon for the job is not only crucial, but the differences between them adds replay value. That plus the endless amount of color pallets and weapon combinations add so much variety that each time you play through the game, you can without looking the same way twice.

But, for each good thing the game does, there are a few equally bad things that take away from it.

As much as I enjoyed it, one thing I found disappointing was the overall length of the game. At 3 chapters long, I was done with the entire game in 5 hours and it left me wanting more, especially since the game is a bit light on the story. To the average player, 5 hours might not seem long enough, but one play through of a level takes about 10-20 minutes depending on how good you are at the game and the difficulty chosen. These missions have no checkpoints to speak of and rely on your lives, so as long as at least one partner is alive you can revive each other endlessly. If all team members are dead, that is Game Over and you have to start from the beginning of the mission. On top of that, reload times tend to take a bit longer (even with the fast reload option) so if a weapon you are using has only 5 shots, then you need to make sure you can find some cover or dodge long enough to reload and start firing again.

Some people may consider the AI of the enemies to be too easy, but it’s the sheer amount of them (numbering in hundreds) that makes them a daunting enemy. Another disappointment from the game is the online play, and while you can read what ExpertPenguin thought about the console version, I am not sure how populated it is at this moment. I do know that right now, it is difficult to find a game online, and with some games having cross platform play, it makes you wonder why the creators didn’t consider it an option. Starting a co-op game from scratch, I was able to make it through the entire first chapter without running into anyone else. Perhaps having the option to search for other players on the 360/PS3 can make its way into the sequel?

All in all, Earth Defense Force : Insect Armageddon is a fun fast paced 3rd person shooter that brings a bunch of new ideas to the table in the shooter genre. It has a ton of action, high replay value, and is one of those games you can play with several friends in local or online multiplayer, as long as you have a spare pad laying around, or were lucky enough to bump into a few soldiers online. Happy gaming!

Rating: 7.0

I played the first EDF and I lamented at how weak the mulitplayer was in that version. It supported no online play of any kind, but as a local split-screen game, it was just the type of simple, arcade fun that you would need between days of grinding out combos in Street Fighter, or just from dealing with any other similarly complex titles. My first look at this game was during PAX East and I was instantly excited for its release. I instantly fell in love with the new Heavy armor class, as large machine guns and explosives are a fast way to win my undying love, and the new online multiplayer, supporting not just two, but up to four players at the same time Most of the details about the game have been covered in the previous review, so with no further ado we’ll jump right into my thoughts on the multiplayer experience!

Seeing how I received this game pretty late in its cycle, a couple of my CL teammates already had the game and were up for blasting some bugs with me. This is great, as the game seems to come alive when you’re not dealing with some AI drones. When you can instead coordinate attacks and focus your combined firepower on the same target things become a million times easier. The only thing I don’t like is having multiple players use the same suit in battle. I feel having two battle suits walking around detracts a little bit from the overall experience because the armors share a similar control scheme, but have different play styles that can be useful on their own. It creates a situation where you’ll have two players playing the same way, with the same weapons, and with no real new techniques being shown off. The weapon balance is spread between the classes like this on purpose to encourage variety, and sharing the same weaknesses makes some stages a bit harder to complete than others. If there’s any problem I really had with this system, it’s like Geekboi mentioned earlier, that the checkpointing system is a bit unforgiving. Most of these levels take 20-30 minutes to finish, and if all players are dead, it requires a start to the very beginning of the stage. If anyone on your team is ill equipped, it can make the levels feel tedious at best and an endless grind at worst.

The net code seems solid for the job as well. As my team and I ran through the campaign, we weren’t thrown off by any slow down, and there were no hiccups to speak of. Survival mode is where we started to encounter problems though, and with 3 players in the room, things became a little bit dicey as the screen filled with enemies. we experienced some slowdown as things got hectic, but other than that? They hammered themselves out just fine.I also experienced a strange bug regarding how the game saves itself. I have backed out to the loadout screen from the pause menu more than only to have all my progress lost. It happened even when I quit to the main menu as well. I don’t know if this was a glitch they’re planning to patch or what, but going solo through 5 levels in this game tough enough. To lose it and start all over again is needlessly frustrating.

Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10. The save hiccups were annoying and there were some slowdown issues, but it wasn’t enough to make the game unplayable, or any less fun. This is definitely worth a playthrough.

Rating:8.0

THQ & Yukes stay true to the formula of addressing a couple things at a time each go around with WWE 12. What sets things apart from the usual two steps forward and one step back motion of progress in the series this time is not only the re-naming of the title, it’s the major facelift and engine that has taken the series in an entirely new turn. Everything from the controls to visual, sound and presentation are nowhere near where they were last remembered to be. WWE 12 surely has taken the ball of change and run with it more so than ever before, but the same question still remains, does this work?

There is a lot of ground to cover in answering that question, with presentation being the first impact to be made here. While the menu this time around pretty much sucks due to bland themes not really suited for a wrestling game and the poor job of a soundtrack that does anything but pull you into the experience, a great turn about is made once you actually get into the action. The character select screen no longer uses in game models once your wrestler is highlighted, which is a nice touch. Instead their vs match profile pictures from the actual televised programming are displayed, giving a more realistic feel for what’s to come leading into the opening bell.

Entrance themes are pretty spot on with a few small motion capture flaws that hardly take away from the feel at all. A great deal of fan service has been done with some current and updated themes accounted for and even some cool unlockables including Triple H’s King of Kings entrance yet other majors are missing from the dance like Undertakers theme featuring Johnny Cash’s “Ain’t No Grave”. While this is no excuse for laziness on the developers part, whatever pieces are missing from the equation are however completely customizable should you feel the need to tweak anything or just revamp things all together. The Create an Entrance option also returns with a few more custom options in addition to last years giving the player complete control over a slightly wider range of improvements.

The camera angles are closer than ever to the feel of the televised programs, the main camera is fixed on the middle portion of the arena’s stands in the crowd and zooms in on the action at appropriate times. Cut camera’s are brilliantly placed at the bottom rope, turnbuckles, announce tables and other various locations between front row and ringside to mimic the actual televised placing’s and capture the action whenever things begin to move about outside of the ring. With such amazing attention to detail here, the feel would be considered perfect if it wasn’t for the recycled commentary from last year and even the year before that. While thankfully this isn’t overly repetitive, it’s still pretty annoying hearing the same things said about certain superstars that we’ve heard 2 years ago. A large chunk of moves share the same motion capture from what seems like several decades as well and with such smooth camera work, it becomes even more apparent that there are moves that certain wrestlers shouldn’t be doing all together.

Smackdown VS Raw gamers will have a bit of a learning curve to sink their teeth into as controls have been revamped towards more usage of the face buttons, similar to the early versions of the Smackdown series. Strikes and grapples are determined by usage of the face buttons while the joystick is used for transitions between different chain grapples, allowing the player to target specific areas such as the arms, head, torso and legs for damage. A targeting HUD has also been added into the controls which can be used to monitor your opponents damage without taking away from anything on screen. The run button has been remapped to the left trigger button which might take the longest to get used to but after a while all these changes begin to make more sense as you go along and feels a lot more natural in the grand scheme of things. Hit detection is at the best it’s ever been while performing your favorite superstars moves, from the simplest strikes to most complex suplexes, contact is made at a much more believable range and pace creating a much more authentic feel of wrestling.

To keep players in the action longer and keep things more engaging, gameplay has been sped up by keeping players off the mat and into the action longer with a new recovery system. Until a significant amount of damage has been made to the superstar in the orange or red damage indicator, superstars will recover from knockdowns and power strikes a lot faster in seamless transitions back their feet, ready to counter or create an offense of their own. These additions allow momentum to shifts frequent and rapidly throughout all match types that build up wonderfully for those closing clutch moments later on into the final 3 count. Transitions from signature moves into a finisher has been well complemented atleast, causing a stagger effect on the opponent during a taunt, or signal set up, for the big finish just like the real life counterpart.

Road to Wrestlemania mode returns this year as well with it own unique facelifts and changes. Three storylines are available but this time it is not longer up to the player which order in which they will be played. It’s broken down into segments which follow a Villain, Hero & Outsider path each starring one main superstar Sheamus, John Cena and Triple H. While the mode is fun and provides tons of worthy unlockables to be had along the way and some pretty decent story arcs are to be had. However the game suffers a bit from trying to tell too much of story by often times dictating when and how a certain match will end. The thrill of real victory in many matches are watered down when you are forced to simply beat down your opponent until an overhead prompt indicates when to “end the match” which will result in a cut scene where the rest of the action unfolds. While this is a bit over used, some gamers may not mind it too much, a more hands-on alternative should be looked into where you can atleast participate in the climax via quicktime prompts at least.

Speaking of unlockables, this is another fine point of WWE 12. Whether your a fan of customization, alternate attires or lengthy rosters, there are enough quality goodies in all of the mentioned categories to keep everyone happy. To date, this is easily holds the most plentiful number of arenas, entrance themes, up to date attire selections and by far one of the most memorable rosters to be had upon completion. The selection of legends this year are great, spanning from multiple generations of the 80′s Road Warriors, beloved Eddie Guerrero, dominant Brock Lesnar, modern day The Rock and much more. Quantity and quality were definite focus’ in the unlockable department.

All in all, WWE 12 does take the series and turn it up on it’s ends but does so with minimal casualties compared to the last 3-4 installments. If this is any indication on where future WWE games are headed, it’s surely off to a promising and exciting start, given at least the potential displayed in the areas which recieved actual attention to detail. It’s been a long time since any wrestling game has left us more pleased than frustrated, making WWE 12 not only a little bit more of a breathe of fresh air but holds a large potential as new lease on life for the franchise as a whole as long as the developers create more than a half done revamp.

Gameplay: 7 A couple of new additions have been placed with good execution. Matches feel closer to what we tune in to on TV to watch and notable efforts have been made to keep those authentic feelings to last. There aren’t exactly any new modes or match types to speak of but all previous fan favorite existing ones are accounted for.

Visuals: 6 Too much recycled motion capture. If there was minimal effort put into this title, it definitely lies within the visuals. Some wrestler’s seem a bit off which can be forgivable over time, but seeing the same movements and executions from 3-4 years ago becomes an eyesore, taking away from this feeling like an actual redux on the series as a whole. A real trip to the mo-cap studio could have set this game above and beyond expectations.

Controls: 8 The remapped control layout makes total sense once you get the hang of it and learning to adapt isn’t much of a climb. A few add-ons allow more pin point limb damage, giving the player more control on where the action is focused and how the opponents can be broken down to better suit their playstyle and complement finishers.

Replay: 8 There are some pretty worthy and wide ranged unlockables to hunt down and enjoying them with some friends are a blast.

Rating: 7.5

Let’s start from the beginning, the story of Saints Row picks up after the events of two and all its DLC. The Saints become media stars and filthy rich in addition to their gang banging (giggity) activities. During a ‘publicity stunt’ (a bank job) the Saints leader (you), Johnny Gat, and Shaundi get themselves into a sticky situation and wind up in jail. They find themselves at the mercy of Syndicate in a different town known as Steelport. Johnny Gat sacrifices himself for you and Shaundi to escape. The events following that are similar to the previous two games. You do various missions and activities to build up the Saints in Steelport. Very simple and stays tried and true to the formula. Interestingly enough the data from the second game doesn’t load so you have to make your character all over again, so you can make a new character or just try to remember what you looked like. I basically made myself, again and just started playing.

The game allows players now to share their create a character online with the community which is an nice,but not necessary add. I can only guess that they are trig to build up the the community more. However the create-a-feature is good but it’s not very robust. There are some options that were available in the previous game that are not available here in this version. This also applies to clothing, jewelery, tattoos,etc. it seems as if they simplified it so the game did not have too much to load, especially since you can play through the campaign in co-op mode.

So what could you do to improve on a design on a game that is the crazy slutty sister of Grand Theft Auto? Improve the graphics for one. The game looks leaps and bounds better than the first two, while not as graphically impressive as GTAV it has it’s charm. While there have been some improvements there have also been some back steps. As I mentioned earlier the character creation suffered for the graphical improvements. Also the lighting in some points tend to make characters faces look a little bit weird. Facial expressions are practically non existent in this game, not that their needed but it is very noticeable around hour two.

Steelport looks amazing as a city, it has a grittier feel to it versus the west coast sort of feel that Stillwater had in the second game. It rains a lot in that town but it is a bit less pronounced. You’ll hear the rain and see the water effects on the car and tires but not see the rain. Speaking of water, the water looks and behaves pretty well. The lighting has improved and at night Steelport looks beautiful. The fire effects have gotten a slight improvement not as good as Alone in the Dark (best fire effects ever) but not too shabby either.

Controlling this game is pretty simple they did not change up too much from the previous control schemes, if it’s not broke.. They added some new moves that can be performed while sprinting each with it’s own merits plus aiming down sights helps line up shots faster. Driving in this game is always a pleasure. Every vehicle handles different and has a unique feel. They simplified flying to make it a better experience so you can focus on more important things like carnage.

The music in this game is a point of contention for me. While the original score for some parts of the game is really good. The radio song choices don’t sit that well with me. There are some good songs I discovered playing this game such this one:

Grum – Heartbeats from Brian McBlade on Vimeo.

However a lot of the hip hop rap and rock tracks I wasn’t feeling too much. They included a few tracks from Adult Swim such as the venture bros theme song,stuff from Tim and Eric, and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force theme song. While none of this is bad it just didn’t move me in the way that they probably hoped/expected. I think it’s because I am an old fart. What I do give them credit for is picking amazing songs to line up with some key events in the game. The scene when you storm the penthouse is just impeccably done for instance. It feels as if they modeled this and other scenarios after the songs once they got the license for them.

The voice acting for this game is good. Some moderately sized to big names were brought in for this and it really gives the game some flair. Having Hulk Hogan break down the Luchador code for you to having Sasha Grey complain about her outfits ups the ante. The mayor (spoiler) being himself was absolutely amazing, I had no idea that was going to happen. I was going to initially complain about the main character voice but in light of beating the game and doing some co-op I think the voices work considering.

The game offers a bit but not too much in terms of length. In theory you can finish this game in one or two sittings. The diversion activities do not have that many levels and you can predict where you can find gang activities to break up to complete the areas that you take over. The co-op is fun and I think is best played between two people who have not played the game before. You can help a person out with your beefed up Saint but it feels a bit too easy at times. There is a horde mode(which is practically standard in almost every game now) called Whored mode where you take out various waves of enemies. It’s a horde mode so if you’re into that sort of thing then this maybe up your alley. I did about 20 waves and I was done with it. There are multiple endings and you can make different choices within the game which affects what you end up with in your arsenal, who is in your crew and how you make your money. So it is worth another play through to see the difference. For the achievement hunters in one playthrough I’ve unlocked thirty seven of the fifty achievements in the game. The game is not to difficult on Hardcore just a bit cheap (everyone seemingly has SMGs and shotguns) but this is ok because you can hide in the stores that you own, call off notoriety and become invincible to most forms of damage with the proper levels to counteract this. I personally felt that some of the upgrades held your hand while you played and didn’t buy them. You may need them so the devs put them in the game.

Overall this game is fun. It is satire plain and simple. It knows it’s a video game and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It pokes fun at other genres and pays homage to them as well. The crew of this game is obviously into the culture and tried to include as much of that knowledge as they can. However there are some issues with this game. It buggy and sometimes randomly die doing actions that you normally wouldn’t die for. The AI is absolutely terrible at driving, finding paths to get to you and just not walking in the line of your fire. Sometimes if there are too many vehicles or things on screen your Y button becomes your enemy. You’ll have a hard time trying to get into a car or taking people hostage, others you’ll answer your cellphone when you want to open a door or get into your car. There’s also the fact this game may offend some people because its super sexual nature, rough language and some of the stereotypes.

The Breakdown

Control: 9
There are some issues with the Y button when there are too many Y sensitiveness objects on screen. You may accidentally take people hostage if they are too close to your car otherwise the formula they have for this game works

Sound: 10
Aside from my beef with the music choice the voice acting and sound track are great. Three words make this game great aurally, Auto-Tuned Pimp.

Gameplay: 9
You’ve played this before there’s not much to it, very easy to pick up and play, I think they realized the side missions could be repetitive so there aren’t that many of them kudos for that. The game isn’t that hard overall just a little cheap at times.

Graphics: 9
Game looks good but there are some bugs here and there. stuff falling through the game, some wonky lighting effects and some funny glitches.

Replay: 6
If you’re an achievement hunter, you’ll have it all in 1.5 play-throughs. And you’ll have no real reason to pick up the game again until DLC or just to help out your friends. Story isn’t that long but there are some choices and cut scenes you may want to see again so there’s that. But once you’re done you’re done.

It’s like GTA‘s younger sister. She’s pretty and super fun but not like her older more sophisticated sister. They have their own two distinct styles but you can’t help but compare them. This game is an improvement on the other two but there’s still some work that could be done. The game has bugs that happen often however they aren’t world ending. The game is worth a play through, the game has more positives than negatives . I would say pick it up at a slightly lower price point or ask for it as a gift. I don’t say get it used because you lose your online pass (which I’m very disappointed with THQ for going down that path).

Rating: 8.5

MW3′s campaign is truly the spotlight this go around. Taking full use of the aging but still full of life engine, your taken into the driver seat right where Warfare 2 left off. At times the plot may be a bit difficult to follow due to the many time skips, perspective changes and presentation but we all know the real appeal here is the action, which in this case is far from disappointing. Each campaign scenario is far different from the last, keeping the player far from any sense of “Oh man, this again?” and more concerned with “I wonder what’s going to happen next?”. Aside from each missions differences, the action and pacing between cinematic are in perfect balance the entire ride through to the credits.

The team has done a great job of seamlessly flowing between the players full control one moment and into a QuickTime event in the next, along with energy rush action sequences all the while still leaving you in enough control to remained immersed in the combat. Most times where you expect the cinematic to fully take over, giving you time to collect yourself. are replaced in favor of the playing having to assist in a high speed chase, stealth kill assists or simply radio in air support and provide the necessary coordinates to strike.

Veterans of the COD series may want to take into account that as great as each of these missions are, they can at times be easily run through and shortly lived on the standard difficulty. Each mission stretches to about a 10-15 skirmish but can be extended by changing the difficulty settings which effectively do make firefights longer, more intense and adds a significant amount of enemies to deal with depending on Hardened and Veteran settings. Make sure to adjust the difficulty to one of these settings if you don’t want this ride ending well under 10 hours of gameplay and looking to enjoy it for as long as possible.

Replayability has a decent amount of focus in MW3, there are some collectables to be had but nothing game changing or experience alterting. The focus on action is so high it’s almost impossible to collect even half of the collectables, in form of enemy intel scattered, throughout the levels and those looking to add to their gamerscore are in for a lot of revisiting if they wish to obtain them all. Hence all the chaos, the placement of the intel are pretty well hidden into the environment among destructible areas and varies forms of battle scarred terrains, so there is a good challenge provided for the hunters as well. Spec ops has returned to pick up the slack for players who are looking for a more hands-on extended gameplay. This mode is challenging and fun, as you can have another player join you locally or online co-op to engage in the various missions with specific requirements of passing each one. Rewards toward your campaign experience are an added incentive if your able to complete these missions with outstanding ratings outside of the usual requirements. This is usually judged in collaboration of the missions completion, finishing time, amount of kills and effectiveness. Some missions also provide pretty cool alternate perspectives on events that occurred during the campaign operations, so you may get to play the “bad guy” in these missions.

The multiplayer component has stuck to it’s tried and true elements and honestly there isn’t much NEW features to speak of here. There are some minor adjustments such as a slight tweak in faster gameplay, killstreaks provided for not only assault but also support roles as well and there are 12 new maps out the box that are actually all pretty well designed and balanced, some locales you will find familiar from sections of the campaign. Like the single player, you’ll notice a decent polish on the visuals creating a pleasing atmosphere containing the battles but compared to other games out this year such as Battlefield, it’s age is really starting to show. Fans of the series will get a lot of the the same with little surprises but it still holds the same charge as a fun and addictive experience. Tons of collectables to deck out your player card and a higher level cap of 80, the highest yet in the series, to keep the interest running a bit longer for those looking to utilize the Prestige functions. Leveling has become very slightly more easier this time around as well to help balance out and avoid the feeling that your not being compensated for your time and performance.

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 isn’t as big of a new installment as we had hoped, but it is far from being a let down. There are just enough new elements to allow the gamer to appreciate the variously scattered breathes of fresh air that would merit this a sequel and please long term fans. However, it’s not going to be enough to covert anyone who isn’t already a fan of the tried and true formula. This solid outing is very much solid in every sense but has plenty of room to expand and merit the title of being a real blockbuster hit as MW2 was during it’s release.

Gameplay: 8 It’s Call of Duty with enough add ons to keep you busy. Solid multiplayer for long term fans.

Sound: 7 A lot of the sounds seem recycled from previous installments.

Visuals: 8 Polished, nothing too great or pushing either platforms nearly to it’s potential usage.

Controls: 9 The great stick/button layout many other FPS’s try to imitate to this day, feels most natural here at home where it belongs.

Rating: 8

Sonic Generations follows through on the long awaited promise that Team Sonic has been looking to capture for decades. With various releases across multiple platforms, the last batch of Sonic games have fell more than short of it’s mark, making this release even that much more of a breathe of fresh air to the series. If Generations could be held at fault for anything, it could be being too much of a good thing. Old school gamers of the Genesis era will explode with nostalgia as this latest installment will have them frequently reminiscing the entire way through. Tons of “Oh my god, I remember this” moments are to be had in Generations via revisits to classic landmark stages packaged with it’s original theme songs. New school gamers will have the joy of experiencing what made the Sonic franchise such a success in a more modern tone and beautiful visuals to accompany them for the ride.

Controls(9) : Simple, smooth, fun. It’s basic platforming so it’s easy to pick and understand. You’ll spend most of your time either running or jumping. Good reflexes will help if you’d like to get fancy.

Sound (10): Half the joy to be had here is through the games soundtrack. Sonic has always been remembered for it’s amazing tunes and Generations brings back all the beloved classics we’ve come to know and love in retro form and also well done updated mixed versions for Modern stages. It’s almost impossible not to hum along as you play.

Visuals(8): The environments are colorful and full of life throughout the foreground and background. However everything so is actually SO lively you do tend to lose yourself during the faster paced moments of gameplay, causing temptation to slow the action down or just blindly run into a wall or enemy, reestablishing your position on screen. Frequent breaks are encouraged to rest the eyes here!

Gameplay(10):Classic fun platforming at it’s finest and true to Sonic’s roots. You will find everything here in order as you traverse the many stages, collecting rings, jumping on baddies heads and enjoying well though out, very refreshing boss battles at the end of all sections. Each stage contains decent levels of challenge as you will find nothing too easy or too difficult to pass.

Replay (7): Variety is surely one of the strong points in Generations. There are tons of unlockable abilities that encourage you to backtrack to completed stages to either increase your stage rankings or find hidden items that were previously inaccessible. There are many paths in each stage making it impossible to get the full experience in one play through. Also each stage comes with a number of personal challenges for both Classic & Modern Sonic to complete for rewards of unlockable artwork, stage BGM, abilities or even Chaos Emeralds. Some challenges may feel a bit repetitive mid-way through the game, it’s only saving grace is your never asked to do the same thing on the same stages unless you wish for a better score.

Rating: 9.0

I am standing atop a building, Detective Vision is on as I survey the surrounding street area. To my left is a thug armed with a baseball bat. To my right, two other thugs talk amongst themselves complaining about the cold weather. A scan of my in-game map reveals a phone ringing not too far from my current location, which means Zsasz has another game of cat and mouse for me to play in. There are around 20 Riddler Trophies I’ve tagged so I can remember where they were located in the surrounding area as well. Oh yeah…and Mister Freeze wants me to find his wife while I’m trying to find a cure for this poison Joker has put in me. I am Batman.

Batman: Arkham City is the impressive follow-up from Rocksteady’s prior hit surprise, Batman: Arkham Asylum. What was first a Metroid-esque linear experience through the many buildings of Arkham Asylum is now an open world experience with missions and quests through a walled off section of Gotham City that has seen to it that Hugo Strange is in charge and within the first few moments of the game, has revealed that he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman to both the player and Batman himself. This and a whole smorgasbord of plot twists to come round out an impressive Batman experience like no other. To say Rocksteady outdid themselves, is an understatement.

The most notable change between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City is the sprawling world Rocksteady has created. Some of Batman’s most recognized imagery from the comics is the sight of him coming down from a building into a crowd of thugs and then pummeling them into submission. The fact that the game lets you do this a great deal is, at least for me, worth the price of admission. Traversing this city is a ton of fun as you can glide and propel with the Bat Claw throughout the city, an amazing feat similar to the web-slinging found in many of the Spider-Man games. Not to be done there, Rocksteady has also put together a great Bat-Tale that bounces between a lot of Batman’s most iconic villains ranging from the Penguin and Mister Freeze to Ra’s Al Ghul and ties them together in amazing arcs of story that at times you forget you’re playing a video game.

Gameplay remains tried and true to the previous installment with the free-form combat returning albeit retooled and more tactical. I could go into exactly how the combat has changed but some of the changes are story spoilers and best left for you to discover. Some enemy battles are best solved through stealth and Batman even has the aid of the environment alongside his utility belt. Shooting an electric bolt at a generator to shock nearby enemies is both hilarious and effective, or even throwing a batarang at a fire extinguisher to have it explode in an enemies face can yield some satisfying results.

With the open world gameplay, there is a ton more to do in-game alongside the main campaign. Riddler returns with his puzzles and trophies for a total of 440 challenges for you to uncover. Catwoman is also playable via downloadable content and her story arc intertwines with Batman’s in select areas and she even has her own Riddler trophies to hunt down as well as a different move set and means of travel throughout the walled off city.

If there are any complaints to be found in the game, most would be nit-picky annoyances. I am never fond of boss fights that include henchmen, and at times some of the combat scenarios presented in the campaign are rage-filled controller throwing difficult, but the tools are there at your disposal and they are manageable once you figure out what to use and which thugs to prioritize.

Couple the main quest, the Catwoman arc and a new game plus with the multitude of Challenge Maps that will have their own DLC character related appearances soon (Nightwing is the first to come via DLC) and Batman: Arkham City may turn out to be one of this year’s most fun time sinks to play through. Batman: Arkham City not only lives up to it’s predecessor in terms of the standards set by Arkham Asylum, but it bests it in every way conceivable. My only worry is how Rocksteady is going to top this one.

Rating: 10

Review: StarFox 64 3D
For: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Nintendo
Price: $39.99
Release: 9/9/2011 (North America)

Booting the game up, there are three modes to choose from, a 3DS and N64 style of play, along with a Score Attack mode (local leaderboards….meh.) but I was hard pressed to see the difference between them. A very welcome save system is also present, ready to pick you up where you left off should you need to stop at any time, which is great because the campaign is as robust as ever! The Lylat system spans several planets of varying climates and terrain, with branching pathways that not only dictate the overall challenge of your journey, but the story and outcome as well. Even the smallest detail like keeping a certain teammate alive at the right time can change your story path considerably, prompting experimentation and multiple playthroughs. It’s a fantastic structure that still works well to this day, rewarding your sense of exploration as much as a quick trigger finger.

All of this is made better by the excellent remastering work put into the game. If Zelda 3D was a shining example of how to remaster an old masterpiece, then this is the new gold standard. Character models saw an overhaul, becoming more detailed, every flat texture has been given a surprising amount of depth, and the game is just a joy to look at with every turn, from the cutscenes telling the story, to the amount of detail used in making each level feel distinct from one another and alive. Par for the course, of the HUD has been moved to the bottom screen as well, making details that were previously obscured by constant radio chatter more visible. Even the sound has been remastered, free from cartridge restraints and sounding better than ever. What should’ve been a blasphemous turn in re-recording the voicework to match turned out wonderful, as you can clearly tell the actors are new, but they were directed to sound exactly like their N64 counterparts.

(You knew it was coming.)

It’s only a testament to the strength of Nintendo’s original design that well over 15 years later, it’s still fun to out fly, and out shoot friends. The intuitive controls, combined with stages that are well designed for dogfighting are still here. The thrill of chasing a friend down with one wing, low health and netting the winning kill is still present. That love and nostalgia can’t blind me from the fact though that there was absolutely NO effort put into it aside from this whatsoever. The variety offered by the tank and on foot modes? Absent. New stages? Neh. New modes? Ha. Hidden characters like the original? No dice. After a few matches, flying the same vehicles, with the same characters, and somehow dealing with a spot of lag here and there, you’ll want to put it down, wondering where Nintendo’s priorities went.

What they did feel was necessary though, and was clearly more important than new content, online play, or even leaderboards for a console that supports all these things, was the addition of a Burnout Paradise style “death cam” that uses the 3DS’ low res, grainy inner camera to take a picture of you when you’re shot down. It’s a gimmick however, and unnecessary because the game only supports local play. What point is there in squinting at a low res thumbnail when you can just look over your shoulder? I’m sure only Nintendo knows the answers, and I guess I should be happy that they had the time and budget to implement this, because of all the tough decisions that went about while handling this remake, this was clearly the most useful addition in their eyes.

The future of portable gaming.

This was a very difficult review to write, because I loved Starfox 64 in in it’s prime, and genuinely assumed it would have the same amount of effort put into it as Zelda 3D. That isn’t the case here though. It’s only indicative of a tactic of Nintendo’s that I’m beginning to resent, and it’s the same thing that made the Ambassador Program a bit of a sore note for the early adopters. They seem to think that digging up relics from their past with a bit of a shine, yet no improvement is simply enough. It isn’t, and someone there needs to realize that after the nostalgia melts away, the memorable lines and fond memories are all for naught if the value isn’t comparable to anything today. As it stands, Starfox 64 is nothing more than a glorified tech demo plucking at my elementary school heartstrings, asking me to forgive it’s flaws because of our history together. Its campaign is as great as it ever was, especially with the impressive new coat of paint, but everything else feels lacking at best, and unfinished at worst. At a current gen price, but lacking features even present in the last two generations. I’ve never been so caught between love and hate.

Rating: 7.0

Given the size of these things, I’d sure hope so.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (Review)
For: Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Capcom
Price: $39.99
Release: 7/02/2011 (North America)

The best thing about Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, is just how much the new developer, Vicious Cycle just gets it. They understand that EDF is about guns, bigger guns (occasionally mechs), and using them to lay an entire alien population to rest…along with half the city you’re supposed to be defending. That part was easy enough, but it’s the way they really nailed it that makes it something special. The graphics are improved, yet still somewhat behind. The dialogue is superbly acted, but intentionally terrible. It’s as if they knew the kind of game they were making and revel in it, even playing it up to great effect. By the time you’ve shot your first building covered in enemies and it comes down in a satisfying shower of debris and flailing insects, you can tell that they didn’t seek to overhaul, just strengthen what was already there, and it’s a move that makes for a shooter that’s just as much fun as the original.

The multiplayer options are surprisingly robust as well, in addition to being able to take a three man squad either offline or online, there’s two player splitscreen, and up to 6 players in a survival mode that’s exactly what it sounds like, increasing waves of insects until you finally expire. While the AI in offline mode is surprisingly better than expected, taking the time to cover and even revive you promptly, playing with other people is truly where it’s at, especially on the higher difficulties, where strategy is a must. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of online players at the time of this writing, making jumping into a match quick and easy.

Rating: 8.0

Man, if I were a child of today, that wouldn’t have worked at all.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions
For: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Tecmo / Team Ninja
Price: $39.99
Release: 5/24/2011 (North America)

We’re in the middle of a fighting game boom, but arguably, that movement was already heralded by the arrival of the PSP five years ago. Far from aspiring to be a glorified portable Super Nintendo like many of the handhelds before it, developers saw it as a chance to offer up portable games with the same level of quality as a handheld, and for the most part, they all succeeded. The idea of what a portable fighter should be has been redefined since then, and although everything from Street Fighter to SoulCalibur has been faithfully reproduced in portable form, Dead or Alive has suspiciously never made the cut. Perhaps they were just waiting for the right technology, or perhaps creator Itagaki’s departure (who stated console type games have no place on portables), but no matter the reason, Dead or Alive: Dimensions is here, it’s handheld, and in typical Team Ninja fashion, is a showcase for just how capable the new 3DS hardware is at delivering an experience that (for the most part) matches it’s console counterpart.

Moments after booting the game up, you’re thrown right into the game’s Chronicle mode, and it’s exactly as it sounds, a retelling of the entire DOA saga that also serves as a tutorial mode. This is great for players new to the series, as it literally teaches the ins and outs of the fighting system in easy to understand portions between cutscenes. What it doesn’t do however, is make the conspiracy-laden drivel that is the DOA storyline any easier to understand. Ninjas are fighting corporate entities, Kung-Fu prodigies are at odds with capoiera practicing assassins, and the whole ordeal is just more enjoyable if you simply marvel at the 3D action scenes and soak in the brief fights punctuating it until its conclusion. Just one question, Team Ninja: Why the stop motion cutscenes with 3D models ala 2010’s Bayonetta? While I can understand maybe a lack of budget (or time) contributed to this, at least the latter game disguised the stylistic choice with a “film reel”look. Here it happens suddenly, randomly, and without warning. Newsflash: It was strange watching a full motion fight turn into a pantomime in its latter stages back in 2010, it still is now.

—————————————————————-The 3D Effect ——————————————————————————–
Switching the game on, it’s almost impossible to ignore just how well done the 3D effect is. Hands and feet pop out of the screen, projectiles whiz dangerously close, and the camera somehow has a knack for playing up the added depth at every turn, highlighting players in the middle of combos and making the crash through a church window into the street below look that much more intense. However, it isn’t all paradise. Though it displays some of the best visuals on the 3DS thus far, the framerate has trouble holding with the slider up. While the fights themselves mimic Super Street Fighter 4 3D’s 30fps standard with the 3D turned on, intros and victory poses dip way below that, creating an odd visual disconnect that’s actually a bit distracting from the otherwise superb 3D presentation. Cutscenes in the game’s chronicle mode suffer this too, with dips marring the otherwise cool 3D action occurring on screen. All of this is remedied by turning the slider down, which locks the game’s visuals at a solid 60fps that looks too smooth to be true. Most people won’t mind, but visual sticklers will be at odds between having a smooth presentation or a “cool” one. At least it’s a decision you can make for yourself.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Rating: 8.0

Oh, and I managed to go the whole review without the words “3D” and “boobs” in the same sentence.

..That didn’t count.

Far from running around for several months declaring the not-so-harmonious death of my favorite music franchise several times over,I truly believed that the last pack (that in itself the last-last pack) was all there was, and after completing the slightly underwhelming last (last) one, I packed my turntable away, and lost myself in a sea of FPS games. Imagine my surprise when news of this seemingly random mix pack found it’s way into my mailbox. Done? Bug-eyed much?

Now imagine my amazement when the words Deadmau5, Benny Benassi and Yolanda Be Cool crossed my eyes.

Oh, I’m done declaring this series dead. Yes I am.

DJ Hero 2 “Ultra Mix Pack” (Downloadable Content)
For: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii (Songs sold as individual tracks)
Publisher: Activision/Freestyle Games
Price: 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 PSN, 300 Wii points (per track)
Release: 4/19/2011
Reviewed on Expert difficulty; Individual songs on a 1-5 point scale, overall is by 10 and not an average.

Benny Benassi – House Music

As it stands, House Music was already a deep, bass heavy song, but FSG apparently wasn’t satisfied with completely buzzing your ears off with one of BB’s finest. No, I’m pretty sure they wanted to make your head explode with a high-tier track. It was a SUCCESS, with their manic style complimenting this already up tempo track with a range of effects that make it sound like it received a shot of adrenaline. It’s all deep lows and piercing effects here, with a challenging, tap heavy chart that has its scratches and samples paced just right to lend a feeling of control over the beat. Even the scratchdown>tap pattern from “Sexy Chick” makes a return here, and it managed to throw me off when it came back at me in reverse. Excellent, excellent track to kick things off, and I don’t say it lightly. It captured the energy of the original perfectly, and only changed things slightly to make it distinct as a DJH mix. Believe that I couldn’t stop myself from dancing in my seat.

Rating: 5/5

Deadmau5 – Sofi Needs A Ladder

Deadmau5 and Sofi’s affair first graced my ears in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and the fandom carried over into the (awesome) album 4×4=12, so I practically decided while downloading this DLC that it would be my favorite song in the pack. The sad truth is that, it is not. This however, does not mean it’s bad. It’s an oddly reverse take on the original, in that it starts out slow with lyrics from the END of the song, and then incorporates the rest about 2/3rds through for a better paced finish. While this change really affects how the song sounds and feels (and it does feel odd if you’re used to the original), it’s still undeniably Deadmau5. Call me crazy, but FSG must know that he’s an avid gamer, because this is a pretty challenging track that actually had my fingers cramping a bit midway through. At the end of the day however, it’s a good track, but not the great one I was expecting. I also can’t shake the feeling that it seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to mess with Sofi’s lyrics as well. Listening to her call out her addiction in metaphors in the original seemed ripe for mixing, but even if they weren’t feeling creative enough for the entire song, having them intact would’ve been better than cutting most of them out, similar to the way “Move for Me” was charted. I feel like it’s the one thing holding this track from the greatness it should’ve been.

Rating: 3/5

Yolanda Be Cool – We Speak No Americano

Fun fun fun. This track, whose band doubles as a Pulp Fiction reference (trivia!) has much going for it, already sampling the humorous song Tu vuò fà l’americano. As a result, it has a nutty, goofy feel to it, with samples in all the right places and enough mixed challenge to keep you guessing. The various ways FSG has managed to keep this game tricky is impressive, and I don’t know who can hit that series of taps/scratches without spraining something, but power to them. As good as I am, I’m pretty sure I broke something on my first attempt. Don’t let this ward you off though, because the song is so much fun that it becomes irrelevant about halfway through. I had fun with this one, and I love the sound they came up with for it. As I mentioned about House Music earlier, this is an example of a remix shaking things up enough to make it different from the original, with just enough flavor to keep it familiar. Kudos.

Rating:5/5

This is prime. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say FSG is pulling out all the stops, making a case for DJ Hero’s continued existence with an outburst of talent and wit. The in-game “hero feed” says that this is the final DLC pack for the game. Excuse me if I have trouble believing that after hearing it so many times before. I have faith in them. Ten DLC packs spanning twenty-nine songs later, I’m still on board, and I’m still dancing to what I consider one of the best game soundtracks ever. Anyone listening to this music and deciding the series needs to close is outright insane. There couldn’t be a stronger case for this to go on.

Rating: 9.0