Review: Armored Core V (360)

The meshing of man and machine into a bad-ass two-story tall metal super soldier: it’s not hard to understand why games featuring mech warriors are so popular.

One of the longest-running mech-starring franchises is Armored Core, just released in its fifth installment. And while it may be getting older, Armored Core certainly hasn’t gotten better, and is definitely is showing its age.

Review: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (PC)

Alan Wake is a writer. Trapped as he is in some kind of nightmarish other place, his only weapon is his writing ability, his gun skills and ability to reload a flash light battery in a half-second. Terrors made terrible through the power of his own imagination, he fights without end in an endless looping homage to The Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, and LOST. And possibly the Roswell Incident of 1947.

That's really the pointy end of the stick of Alan Wake's American Nightmare. It's everything and its own thing all at once and it pulls this trick where I'm constantly over-thinking everything; trying to sort out the storyline where it doesn't need sorting; trying to explain things that aren't explained.

News: Carmageddon: Reincarnation is a Go

Another Kickstarter project that many people have had their eyes on has now been funded.  This time it's Carmageddon: Reincarnation.  This new game promises to be more of what made the original popular with lots of driving around really fast, running over everything in one's path, and often going out of one's way to run things over.  There will also be both single and multiplayer modes.  So tick one more Kickstarter game off the list that now has enough money to go forward.

The Weekly Checkpoint 9

It's time for our weekly round up of gaming news.  This week was pretty slow as we are in the No Big News portion of the run up to E3, but we did talk a bit more about current goings on with Diablo III, as well as the the unfortunate demise of 38 Studios.  Also, you can all laugh at how badly I'm playing Disciples II in the gameplay footage that accompanies this podcast-y thingamajig!

Editorial: The Trouble with Tentacles

There's been a bit of a brouhaha regarding Kickstarter, Soda Pop Miniatures, and their upcoming card game Tentacle Bento.

The premise involves players assuming the role of tentacle monsters passing themselves off as human (or just hiding really well in plain sight) with the goal of having sex with shojou-style Japanese schoolgirls.

Early Impressions: Endless Space (PC)

I've been fiddling around with the alpha for Endless Space the last little while, and wanted to share some of what I've experienced in the game so far.  I hope you all enjoy the video. =)

Collectible: Zartan vs. Flint Diorama

Sideshow Toys and Hasbro have teamed up produce a collectible that my 7-year old self would have been (figuratively) drooling over.

Members of Cobra Command were always somehow cooler than the GI Joe forces. Snake Eyes was the most memorable character for the Joes. Cobra had Destro, Serpentor, Cobra Commander, and empathic twins Tomax and Xamot, to name only a handful of the better known misfits that were always causing problems for GI Joe. But Destro, Serpentor, and Cobra Commander would have been hard pressed to blend into a crowd. On that issue alone, the coolest of them all was Zartan, master of disguise, who could blend in anywhere.

Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (360)

Now that the golf season is well under way, it seems an appropriate time as any for another rendition of the Tiger Woods franchise. The new model brings back a lot of the features of previous games with a few new twists for those looking for a little more depth.

News: Diablo III Sells an Absurd Number of Copies

To be filed under "Super Popular Series' Sequel Sells Super Well".  Blizzard sends word that their latest loot fest has sold a gargantuan 3.5 million copies within the first 24 hours that it was available.  These are actual new sales, and do not take into account all of the people who got a free copy of the game for subscribing to WoW for a year, which account for another 1.2 million owners.  Also, by Blizzard's reckoning, Diablo III has sold about 6.3 million copies in its first week.

Review: Mario Tennis Open (3DS)

The good thing about Nintendo Character GamesTM is that it's a almost a given that it will be an enjoyable experience. ("Almost" because the Mario Party games can be hit or huge miss.) Mario Strikers Charged, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart, Mario Golf and Mario Tennis do a great job capitalizing on the most popular Nintendo characters and as a result, or more likely because of it, a lot of care and attention go into the games to make them pleasant games.

News: Diablo III Stricken by Hacking Onslaught

So, it looks like the problems just keep on coming for Blizzard's latest installment in their Clicky Mc Loots-a-lot series, as the company is now acknowledging that Diablo III is getting hit by a number of hacking issues.  Many players have reported gold, items, and even characters disappearing because of this, and only now has Blizz acknowledged that this is an issue.

Review: Ridge Racer Unbounded (360)

 

Ridge Racer has a long history in the racing genre, but has seemingly always taken a backseat to racing franchises like Need For Speed, Gran Turismo, Burnout and Forza Motorsport. Although it hasn’t been as popular as its contemporaries, even in 2012, the franchise has plenty of gas left in the tank with the newest Ridge Racer title, Unbounded, a good but ultimately average copycat racing game.

Review: Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

So after much waiting, poking of Nintendos, and yet more waiting, we've finally got Xenoblade in North America. It's a good thing too, because the game is by far one of the best RPGs to come along in the last few years, and it does a lot to reaffirm one's faith in the floundering JRPG sub genre. If you like big worlds (and you cannot lie?), exploration, side quests, and a battle system truly deserving of the adjective "snazzy", then you owe it to yourself to play this game.