Oddly given something of a beating by a lot of critics, one thing is clear about Cars 2 The Movie, it was something of a more "grown up" affair. While retaining a certain amount of goofiness and tomfoolery, it was a kind of animated homage to not only Bond films, but spy capers of an earlier age. It had the usual animated elements, and was certainly fun for kids, but a real appreciation of what … [Read more...]
L.A. Noire is without question a major step in the video gaming industry. The trouble with that statement is that a lot of things can be major steps, without quite being a place to put your foot down in themselves. The production was clearly a massive undertaking, and it shows in the superb look and feel of the game. Actors were filmed using state-of-the-art technology, not simply to film … [Read more...]
You know the world of gaming is moving into a new realm of achievement when you start liking games you don't like. Make sense? Crackdown 2 is basically a shooter, but one with very open gameplay. You jump in as an Agent, trying to reclaim Pacific City from the effects of a virus that has turned much of the population into "Freaks," which is code for weird zombies. Unable to come out in the … [Read more...]
I happened across a similarly titled article at SciFi Wire this morning, which offered a counterpoint in that Sir Ben Kingsley seems to be of the opinion that video games are art. Check out that article here. Unfamiliar with the idea that Roger Ebert had expressed the opinion that video games aren't art, I followed the link to his blog post on the subject. In a post titled Video games can never be … [Read more...]
If it were up to me, Alan Wake would, in a variety of ways, represent the future of gaming. A new standard in immersive gameplay, the title has you playing as author Alan Wake during a vacation gone horribly wrong, and events unfold with the style and suspense of a television show. In fact, the game is broken up into episodes, and as you progress to the next installment, a "Last Time on Alan Wake" … [Read more...]
I have to admit right from the start that I am not a GameFly subscriber. I am nevertheless a big fan. I find the concept brilliant, but I only have so many hours in a day, and generally purchase the games I'm after that don't come to me for review. That's just me. Even so... I'm sorely tempted. GameFly has now gone a step further than movie counterpart Netflix seems willing to go, by taking … [Read more...]
Now available at the App Store, Ninja Assassin is based on the film, and throws you into the role. You'll swipe the screen to swing your sword, tap to hide and throw shurikens, and much more. I haven't had a chance to exhaust the game, but it's a fun, highly-stylized hack-and-slash with some twists. Additional game modes add to the playability, but the story mode is the main thing, and the … [Read more...]
At the NewTeeVee Live conference, it was confirmed that starting November 17th, there are going to be a lot of new options for your XBOX360 and more to the point XBOX Live. Already putting together big pushes in the everything-in-one box theory with lots of XBOX Live options and the ability to stream Netflix movies, you'll now be able to Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, and plenty of other words that … [Read more...]
It's gotten to the point now where we are just about spoiled for choice when it comes to fitness titles for the Wii. Once Wii Fit and the balance board hit shelves, the fitness possibilities started popping up everywhere. Right now there must be around 15 to choose from, and more are on the way. Now there's Wii Fit Plus, with several upgrades to the original, and it's getting difficult to figure … [Read more...]
Video game titles spawned from movies rarely manage to hold my attention for more than a few minutes. Even some of the best efforts are either bizarrely difficult in odd ways (almost anything Disney), or just aren't all that fun once the initial experience wears off. I'm not sure where everyone will put G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - The Game in their spectrum, but I find it a solid effort... … [Read more...]
You may already be familiar with Snood , the addictive matching game has been around for years on GameBoy and PC/Mac, but now the game has entered the iPhone arena and it has done some growing up on the way. The cute blocks have been updated, have some new friends, and the iPhone app version allows you to play against friends. For those who aren't already addicted, Snood is a block matching … [Read more...]
Another week, and a lot of great stuff going on to continue my quest to not really cover everything, so let's just go. Pretty big news this week is the story of the producers of Terminator Salvation filing for bankruptcy. After a variety of lawsuits and other mayhem circulating the internet, the bankruptcy move has a lot of people scratching their heads. LA Times story on Terminator … [Read more...]
With G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra releasing in theaters in just a few days, the video game is hitting shelves tomorrow August 4th. I'll have a full review shortly, but my initial reaction is that it not only looks quite good, it looks to have some interesting aspects to the gameplay. The game's story begins after the end of the film's plot (an option I greatly prefer to those that choose to … [Read more...]
For fans of The Sims, the newest release is an automatic purchase that won't disappoint. The Sims 3 offers amazingly powerful updates to the theory, and everyone from the uninitiated to the die-hard will find themselves with limitless entertainment. EA has a new trick up its sleeve for The Sims 3, because you can now get the companion iPhone App version of the game as well. The game offers … [Read more...]
Not enough Terminator for one weekend? Well, I've got your answer. Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series. What you've got with this interesting effort are six original episodes that cover the time period between the video game and the film, and all created with the video game assets. It looks basically like you stepped inside the game engine and bent it to your will in order to … [Read more...]
As I mentioned in the preview review, back at the EA Season Opener, one of the coolest things I got to see was an early version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the iPhone. Now that it's out, it's even better than I thought it would be. For an App, it amazingly captures the game features you expect from the EA franchise. The graphics are great, and apart from a couple of small hiccups the … [Read more...]
