The Latest and Greatest!

As I have been 'on a break' (sorry Ross & Rachel) from posting, I've accumulated some games to write about, so I thought I'd start with a list of some of my new faves!

1. Boom Blox - This game has been getting RAVE reviews and TONS of attention from the press and blogs, but hasn't been selling well at all (depending on your point of view). I picked it up on day one and haven't looked back. I'll be posting a Quick Review later.

2. Lego Indiana Jones - Awwww yeah... I loved me some Lego Star Wars back in the day, and this game ups the ante. I can only imagine that Lego Batman will be even better.

3. WiiWare! So far I've downloaded Dr. Mario and Lost Winds, two of the better-received titles on the service. Expect reviews of both.

4. Dr. Layton - On the DS front, I've really been enjoying this quirky puzzle game. No, not falling-blocks or colored-bubbles puzzles, but mind bending brain teasers! Really great stuff, and a totally well put-together package!

There's much, much more, but I'll save it for later!

The Experiment Continues...

So, it's been a LONG time since I posted anything here! Work, Family stuff, and just a generally busy life have kept me from staying with it, so please accept my apologies, if you are among the very small readership here!

Now, I am determined to get back to it, at least on some level. Keep checking back here for some great stuff!

Yet another awesome Brawl video

So, yet again someone in Japan who is already playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl (jerkwads) has been kind (jerky) enough to post some video footage. This time, a montage of every character's final smash move.

It's pretty interesting to view each one in succession; some are just downright brutal, while others seem only nominally mean. I tell ya right now, the Smash Ball is going to change the way I play this game for sure!

If you don't like SPOILERS, don't view the embedded video below. Otherwise, click play and enjoy!

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: