HOLY PREVIEWS, BATMAN!

Computer and Video Games has a sweet preview for Lego Batman, one of my anticipated titles of next fall, for obvious reasons. Click on over for a decent read and some great screenshots!

FREAKIN' AWESOME SMASH BROS INTRO!

Okay, everyone and their mother and her hairstylist has already posted this, but I can't resist. See, my most anticipated Wii game ever released in Japan today, and there are new videos of it posting all over the net. That's right, Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii is on the streets in Tokyo and all over the land of the Rising Sun, and someone was kind enough to send Gametrailers.com the intro movie, which is epic.

Previous installments of Smash Bros. had a single player mode, but the story-driven mode in the new game (directed by__ of Final Fantasy fame) looks positively inspired. There are a few secret character spoilers as well, so if you don't want to know, JUST DON'T GO!

I've embedded the video below, or you can link over to Gametrailers for a really pretty version!

ANTICIPATION: Fable 2

Welcome to Anticipation, our weekly feature about future games we are looking forward to!


Fable: for quite a while before its release on the original Xbox, 'Project Ego' was the source of much rumor and speculation, as well as the occasional conference room speech by Peter Molyneaux, the title's creator. Molyneaux had already impressed the gaming world with such excellent 'god games' as Populous and Black & White, as well as a variety of sim titles like Theme Park and The Movies, and many watched in anticipation as he touted the incredible list of featured ideas in his new pet project.

When Fable arrived on the scene, I had partaken of the green Kool-Aid and purchased an Xbox, despite every Nintendo-fanboy molecule of my being screaming in objection. The cold, hard reality was that my beloved Cube, awesome though it was, lacked certain games in its library that intrigued me, and Fable was one such title. I picked it up on day one, and plunged deep into the virtual fairy tale that had so many talking.

I spent many hours playing Fable (though I never quite finished it!), and truly, there were some impressive features at play here. Extensive trading systems, side quests, interactive NPC's, aging, tatoos, hairstyles, armor, weapons... it got a bit dizzying at times! But while I found much to admire about the game, it was definitely lacking a few of the promised features, and the core gameplay just seemed pretty mindless. I guess I was pretty spoiled, having enjoyed the Legend of Zelda games, which are the closest comparable title to Fable I can think of. Still, there was so much potential in the fundamental idea behind Fable, and I guess that I hope to see some of that potential realized in its sequel.

I watched a great video demonstration online once, given by Molyneaux at last year's GDC. I'm sure you know the one; the Hero is walking in a forest along a road, and his dog accompanies him. Molyneaux goes on to demonstrate the amazing interactivity and AI that the dog possesses; it automatically defends the master, knows whether you are using a ranged or melee weapon, attacks the enemy it is best suited to defeat, etc. Some great stuff, and all of it just one small part of the bigger picture!

The enhancements to graphics, sound, effects and, I hope, combat should all come together to result in one impressive final package, not to mention new levels of world immersion. Features like full-scale towns, family development and the early industrial age setting are also welcome additions. So, come Spring, you can bet I'll be choosing Good or Evil once again on a whole new level.

Bionic Commando Petition

Capcom recently announced a new, 3D Bionic Commando for XBOX 360 and Playstation 3, but today there was also a remake of the original side-scroller for NES, which will be a downloadable game on XBLA and PSN! I've posted a trailer for the re-make, which looks impressive to say the least.

For those of you who are strictly Wii gamers, there is a petition online to get these two games made for Wii as well. I became aware of it via GoNintendo, and you can sign the petition here.

I remember Bionic Commando as one of my all-time favorite NES games. It took the play mechanics of Metroid, Megaman and Castlevania and threw in a new twist; the protagonist has a bionic arm that can extend outward to grab items, stun enemies, swing from ledges and more. This mechanic set the game apart from almost everything else out there, and really nothing has matched the concept since.

I'm a dual-console guy myself, so if this doesn't hit the Wii, I'll still get a chance to play, but the idea of lashing out with the grapple-arm using my nunchuck or wiimote's motion sensing ability is very appealing...

Here's the trailer for the 3D next-gen game:



And here's the one for the XBLA/PSN remake of the original NES title:

Subjective - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Subjective is another one of our weekly features where we discuss the art direction or the visual style of a game in general.

Most games that have come out in recent years seem to just be about how realistic the graphics can be and game play usually seems to come in at a distant second. Gears of War comes to mind in that category. The graphics are about as detailed and as crisp as you could get, but the whole game looks the same; just gray with a little green for the areas that might have grass in them.

Whereas a game like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune in my mind rivals the detail of Gears of War, but it has so much color added into it.

Yes, most of the areas take place in the jungle with a lot of foliage and dirt, but the developers seem to have taken that extra step to make the grass and the leaves look as green as they can be, the dirt actually looks like dirt. The water effects in this game are top notch, even if you roll around in the water the effect it has on Drake, to me, is unrivaled.

As far as the indoor areas are concerned, they’re all pretty unique; almost every room has a different texture and color to it and the overall design of the areas seem different.

It’s nice to see a developer like Naughty Dog take the time to make each area fresh and almost never will you run down a path in the jungle or in a room that looks like they just copied and pasted, then add a couple touch ups.

First 4 Figures Samus Aran statue

Matt Cassamassina of IGN just posted to his blog that he was sent a Samus Aran Varia Suit statue from First 4 Figures. The swine.

I went to First 4's website and checked it out; they are still available, and at only $99, I'm sure one of you fine readers wants to get me one for my birthday... right? Also of note is the upcoming Samus' Gunship from Metroid Prime: Echoes.

ANTICIPATION: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Is it just me, or does every game around have a subtitle these days?


If you aren't familiar with the Advance Wars series, you are probably not a portable gamer, or just don't care much for strategy titles with slightly quirky, anime-inspired casts. Either way, I think you're missing out!

Allow me to familiarize you: Advance Wars first debuted on the Gameboy Advance and introduced what on the surface appeared to be a simple turn-based military strategy game. You command a small army of infantry, tanks, helicopters, bombers, etc. and try to either eliminate all enemies or capture their HQ. Unlike strategy titles like Starcraft or Command and Conquer, however, everything is done in turns. Think chess, but with far more pieces and much more complexity.

I was hooked the moment I tried the first Advance Wars, and naturally became a sucker for its sequel, as well as the first title on the DS. Each iteration has added new units and features, building on the simple gameplay and subtle tactics one can enjoy in th previous versions. Dual Strike, the DS version (of course), added the use of both screens to survey two simultaneous battlefields, as well as the use of multiple commanders for each army. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one key thing; CO's, or commanding officers, help you manage your army, but they also add a special ability to the mix. Some can repair some damage to all units, others increase firepower or movement range. There are even some that cause adverse weather conditions to suddenly appear! So much for chess... unless the Queen can call down lightning.


The next version of Advance Wars, subtitled Days of Ruin, will hit the store shelves next week, and it looks very promising. Each version so far has maintained a continuing story to keep the gameplay moving along, and at the end of the last chapter, the entire world was devastated by meteors. It is in this post-apocalyptic setting that Days of Ruin begins, and changes the tone of the game from all previous versions.

Days of Ruin adds new kinds of units, such as motorcycle recons and anti-tank artillery, as well as new strategy features, such as units that can counterattack (before, your unit would simply attempt to defend themselves while the enemy took his turn). The new darker look and feel of the game is a welcome breath of fresh air, even though I liked the old cartoony style just fine.

Needless to say, I'm very excited to see this one when it arrives! I'll be picking it up on day one, so hopefully I can get a review up not too much later. Find more out about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin here.

See some awesome Advance Wars Lego creations here.

Multi-Pass: Wario-Ware: Smooth Moves

Yet another new feature, which you will see returning every week! Multi-Pass is our take on multiplayer games we LOVE!

I recently took a trip up to my hometown of Santa Barbara, CA, and visited family and friends during the Christmas holiday. Both of my brothers (and all of my immediate family, in fact) live there, and we often get together with a friend or two to play some Halo, or Mario Kart, etc.

I don't own a ton of Wii titles that offer up compelling 4-player experiences at this time, so I rented one that I now intend to buy: Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.


Yeah, WarioWare games are weird, odd, quirky and just barely this side of sane, but boy are they fun! I had played the single player mode of this game shortly after Wii's launch, but never got around to trying the multiplayer, which allows up to 12 player participation requiring only one remote (eat that, Halo 3! Just kidding, I still love you, baby!)

I set the Wii up and we got right into it; the really fun part was watching the looks on my brothers' faces as they and a friend of ours tried to play each microgame, not to mention try to understand it! At first they were struggling with the concept, because they hadn't played the single-player mode to get accustomed to the weirdness, but soon they had warmed up and we were all laughing at ourselves.

Few party games offer up the silly, zany combination of fun and originality that this one does, and I can pretty safely say that almost none accommodate 12 players! So, stretch, breathe deep and pass that remote! I've got a virtual nose to pick!

On The Download: Galaga '90

On the Download is our weekly feature on Virtual Console, XBOX Live Arcade and Playstation Network games.

I think I've already posted a bit about my love for a good scrolling shooter, so it should surprise no one that I have a couple of these on my Wii's VC. The one I've given the most play-time, however, did surprise me!

I first stumbled across Galaga '90 when I was attending Santa Barbara City College, and a long break between classes conspired with a rainy day to force me indoors for a couple of hours. The school had a modest arcade adjacent to the cafeteria, and I wandered in to see if there was anything new (I had already spent time dumping quarters into Cabal previously). What I discovered was a remake of one of my fondest arcade classics, with the kind of addictive gameplay that keeps you coming back for more.



Galaga '90 improves upon the formula used in the older titles in several ways; there are stages that actually scroll, for one, and new enemies that bring a broad variety of challenges for another. Perhaps my favorite aspect, though, is the TRIPLE SHOT! You may remember that in the original Galaga, one could allow a certain type of foe to 'tractor beam' your ship into captivity, then if you successfully killed that enemy off, your captured ship was added to the current one to allow double-shots. This kind of ship modification was unprecedented at the time, and continued on in even more elaborate form with games like Gradius, R-Type and Raiden.

But in 1990, the simple awesomeness of redeeming a captured ship to add a THIRD shot was enough to keep me happy! Add some sweet graphical polish and sound effects, and Galaga '90 is a surefire winner for any classic sh'mup fan.

Guitar LUST!

Nyko, maker of wonderful peripherals, has unveiled their 2008 lineup, and they have included a very nice looking Guitar Hero controller, called the Frontman, for PS3 and Wii. Pictured above, the axe in question is modeled after a Fender Telecaster (my favorite electric model) and has the very awesome natural wood colored buttons on the fretboard.

The PS3 version will work with both GH games and Rock Band, and run $60, where the Wii version will retail for $50.

I know what I'm gonna want for my birthday...

ANTICIPATION: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Welcome to ANTICIPATION, our weekly feature on games soon to come...


Okay, so I'm probably teeing-off both Bane and Boombalad by posting a feature on this particular upcoming title, but hey, it's MY blog, after all, and I can't think of a game I am anticipating more right now!

All three of us were among the privileged few(thousand) who were able to attend E-for-All in October, and believe you me, the first game we made a beeline for upon entry was Brawl. I can safely say that we were all very impressed, and are thirsting for more playtime with this excellent upcoming, er, brawler (sorry).

So, a little backstory is in order, I think. See, I'm from the Atari generation (yeah, I'm that old), and I was already post-college age when I got an N64. I loved the system, despite its flaws, outrageously expensive cartridges and incredibly slow release schedule, but few games would prove my loyalty worthwhile like Super Smash Bros. I mean, the game had it ALL! Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Samus, Link and more, all duking it out for dominance in a no-holds-barred, knock-down-drag-out fight for supremacy. Throwing and/or using items, playing in environs from many of my favorite classics... And I had never played a fighting game like THIS! My past fighter experience was mostly tied up in Street Fighter II and its various iterations on the SNES, so this frantic, don't-you-dare-blink style brawl was unprecedented!

But, when you really boil it down, Smash Bros. was little more than a crazy beat-em-up with no story to speak of, average graphic presentation and little depth. Why did it catch on so well? Why did so many guys (and girls) become completely and utterly engrossed in it for months (years, really) after its release?

I believe it simply comes down to two things: an all-star cast and simple control scheme.

Smash Bros. was not your run-of-the-mill fighter, let alone your average Nintendo game! The mere thought of pitting guys like Mario and Link against each other in the same game was every fanboy's dream come true, and in this title we had a parade of characters from all kinds of heavy-hitting franchises. And Nintendo was smart about it, too, because every one of them played just differently enough to keep consistent with their diverse game backgrounds. Samus with her speed, weaponry and maneuverability, Pikachu with his small size, charged attacks and obnoxious teleportation and Kirby... oooh, Kirby! That guy could really make me mad.

And gone was the Down-Right-Up-PUNCH! complexity of trying to pull off combos and special moves! Instead, flick the analog stick in a direction, along with a tap or press of the A or B button, and you've pulled off one of several unique attacks. Really, Smash Bros. proved something that Nintendo has more recently been demonstrating on a larger scale with the Wii: simple controls can be really fun if they are done right!

So, with all this going for it, no one was surprised that the sequel, Smash Bros. Melee, became Gamecube's number one hit. Once again we were treated to a cavalcade of Nintendo characters, only more of them came to the party this time. More locales, more items, improved graphics and sound, and even some new play modes for single player. Melee took everything great about the original and turned it up several awesome notches.

Now, we are mere weeks away from release of Brawl. It looks to surpass its predecessors in every way with the addition of online play, tons of modes, custom level editing, new characters (SONIC! OMG, SONIC!) and who knows what else! Let me just say that if you are a Wii owner and you are not yet a Smash Bros. Brawl fan (or worse, if you are still staring at the screen and saying, 'What is this guy raving about?), do yourself a favor and check it out here.