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Review: Dead Space

Dead Space
Xbox 360/PlayStation 3

Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 10 October 2008
Rated: M

In recent years Electronic Arts has become one of the most reviled publishers in the gaming industry.  Their cutthroat business practices, such as buying exclusivity to eliminate their competition, has earned them a place at the top of many a gamer's boycott lists.  They are best known for their sports franchises, which many gamers mockingly refer to as Roster
Update for each successive year due to EA's propensity to tweak only minor details from iteration to iteration.

Whether it's an attempt to win back fans with fresh, original IPs, or an attempt to cash in on a successful genre they'd left untapped up to this point, EA has jumped into the survival horror arena with their science fiction horror epic, Dead Space.

Playing Devil's Advocate: The Upside of In-Game Advertising

It seems there's a big to-do over in-game advertising, and I can't help but feel the whole argument is a little bit silly.  Personally, I don't see what the big deal is.  Does seeing a billboard for a real life product whiz by as you race past really affect your gameplay experience that much? 

Many gamers feel that in-game advertising is intrusive or that the publisher is just greedy and saw a way to rake in even more money from their game.  Newsflash, folks: the video game industry is called an "industry" for a reason.  It's true that there is money to be made from in-game advertising, but it's no different than watching commercials on television shows or ads before movies in theaters.

Review: The Ultimate History of Video Games

The Ultimate History of Video Games
by Steven L. Kent

It's no secret that I'm a gamer.  I've been gaming for as long as I can remember; since I was old enough to hold a joystick.  I grew up with the Atari 2600 and I still have four shoeboxes full of cartridges in my basement.  I still own the original NES Control Deck, complete with the all-gray Zapper and R.O.B. the Robot.  I still own a Genesis with a Sega CD and a 32X attached, and there are currently no less than seven gaming systems hooked up to my television at this very moment. 

I spent a good portion of my youth in arcades, while my poor mother who was good enough to take me sat on a bench, reading books until I was out of money.  I love video games, past, present, and I'm sure I will love them in the future.

Review: Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Xbox 360/PlayStation 3

Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: 11 March 2008
Rated: M

Without question, the original Condemned: Criminal Origins was the best title to launch with the Xbox 360.  Despite a few issues with some slightly repetitive combat and some interesting ideas that needed to be fleshed out, it was a unique and totally immersive gaming experience that really took advantage of the power of the next-gen console to create a startlingly bleak and frightening atmosphere.  The game's ambiguous ending certainly hinted at the possibility of the sequel and thanks to solid, but not necessarily stellar sales and a devoted following, Monolith has finally delivered.  Did they fix all that was wrong with the original game in their second outing?

Review: Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned: Criminal Origins
Xbox 360

Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: 16 November 2005
Rated: M

First person shooters are a dime a dozen.  In fact, Monolith Productions has done more than their fair share with titles such as Blood, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, No One Lives Forever, and most recently F.E.A.R., but with Condemned: Criminal Origins, one of the launch titles for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, they put a slightly different spin on the genre by focusing on melee combat instead of gun battles.  Wrapped around a gritty, brilliantly paced, and tense story about an FBI forensics officer in search of a vicious serial killer, Condemned is easily the standout launch title for the 360 amidst a sea of graphically upscaled ports, sequels, and redundant games.

Review: The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return

The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return
Wii

Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: 11 March 2008
Rated: M

I have a confession to make: I'm a lightgun game junkie.  I love them.  Ever since the early, primitive days of the genre with games like Operation Wolf and Lethal Enforcers, I've had a strange fixation with them.  There's just something intrinsically fun about the simple point and shoot gameplay. 

When Sega launched the Dreamcast in 1999, one of the standout titles, in my eyes, was the port of their arcade hit The House of the Dead 2.  Featuring new game modes and an arcade-perfect port, HotD2 kept me coming back years after the Dreamcast had officially been considered dead.  Unfortunately, with the advent of high definition televisions, old lightguns no longer worked with the new technology.  Enter the Nintendo Wii and its unique controller.

It seemed a given that lightgun games would find their way to the Wii thanks to it's pointer-like remote.  Sure, the experience isn't a hundred percent accurate, but it's a close enough facsimile for folks like me who enjoy the wholesome arcade fun of shooting legions of bad guys.  After bringing their lesser-known arcade title Ghost Squad to the Wii and Capcom's own zombie-themed lightgun shooter, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Sega has gone back to the well and repackaged two of their biggest blasters into one convenient Wii package.  With a budget price of $29.99, it's tough to go wrong unless you just don't like the genre itself.

Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii

Developer: HAL Labratories
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 9 March 2008
Rated: T

It's heeeere.

After what seemed like an eternity, Nintendo has once again gathered its best characters, and a few new friends, for the brawl to end them all.  To say that Super Smash Bros. Brawl is one of the most anticipated games of the year is an understatement.  Any game that warrants midnight openings at not only specialty game shops, but major retailers like Best Buy is an event in and of itself.  After playing the game for an absolutely absurd amount of time since picking it up at one of those midnight openings, I can safely say that not only is this a game that belongs in every Wii owner's collection, but it's the game that will make the Wii even more desirable than it already is.

Brawl was worth the wait.

Review: Rez HD

Rez HD
Xbox 360

Developer: HexaDrive
Publisher: Q? Entertainment
Release Date: 30 January 2008

For those of you who were unlucky enough to have missed out on Tetsuya Mizuguchi's on-rails rhythm-based shooter, Rez, during its two previous outings on the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast, you're in luck.  Now you can experience one of the greatest, most unique games of all time in high definition with 5.1 surround sound via Xbox Live Arcade for a mere $10, a far cry from the $50-$100 the PS2 version regularly goes for on eBay.

If you don't understand what all the hype is about, you must be incapable of understanding art, because no word better describes Rez's mind-melting combination of trippy graphics, pulsing techno music, and unique controller vibrations to create an experience that is so original, so fresh, and so fun that it defies its classification as a simple "on-rails shooter."

Review: Parasite Eve

Parasite Eve
PlayStation

Developer: Squaresoft
Publisher: Square Electronic Arts
Release Date: 9 September 1998
Rated: M

If you ask me, Parasite Eve is Square's best game on the original PlayStation.  I know all the Final Fantasy fanboys are crying "Blasphemy!" right now, but hear me out.  Parasite Eve was a step in a much more mature direction than the usual fantasy claptrap Square had been churning out with regularity since the days of the NES. 

I'm not trying to take anything away from the Final Fantasy series or FFVII, widely heralded as one of the best games of all-time.  I'm simply saying that Parasite Eve is the more entertaining of the two to me.  Featuring the unique (for the time) active time battle system, a creepy sci-fi storyline, the usual stunning pre-rendered cinematics that Square is famous for, and one of the best, most atmospheric soundtracks to ever grace a video game, Parasite Eve is a perfect picture of the PlayStation's effect on the gaming universe.

Review: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
PlayStation

Developer: Silicon Knights
Publisher: Crystal Dynamics
Release Date: 31 October 1996
Rated: M

It has been nearly a decade since the first game in the Legacy of Kain series was released.  Since that time, 4 more games have been released, spanning various platforms to complete one of the largest, deepest stories in gaming history.  The Legacy of Kain has been a fascinating one indeed and has proven that great storytelling stands the test of time.

Though not without its problems, Blood Omen is still one of the PlayStation's best titles.  Its vast world and genre-melding gameplay elements offer up plenty of hours of entertainment and the superb story will enthrall you, making you want to complete it.