How do you turn a deeply flawed man into a religious figure? Simple: make a sequel. That's what 2K Games did with the protagonist of the critically acclaimed "BioShock" for the upcoming sequel, "BioShock 2." The follow up to one of the best games of 2007 takes place ten years after the original game, where the inhabitants of Rapture are left with a very deep impression of the original's main character, Jack Ryan; so much so that some of the inhabitants of Rapture have placed him on a pedestal usually reserved for holy figures. At a recent demo, "BioShock 2"'s creative director, Jordan Thomas, had this to say when asked about Jack’s role in the upcoming game:
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The news that "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes" was being localized for release in the States came as a pleasant surprise to fans of Capcom’s Vs. fighting series. It was a twisted web of licensed proprieties that finally came together in order to culminate in an almost character-complete roster for the games upcoming release as "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars." Of the 22 characters that were the game’s original lineup, all but one will not be making the trip across the Pacific, Hakushon Daimaō, from Tatsunoko series The Genie Family.
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Released in 1989, "A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia" was one of the most unique and creative titles ever released for the NES. It was a story that sprang forth from the mind of David Crane, who, at that time, was best known as the designer of "Pitfall." Now, twenty years later, industry innovators WayForward Technology have finally released a follow up for the Nintendo Wii, that serves as more of a reimagining of the original, than actual sequel. At the same time, it fixes many of the problems of the classic, and adds a new coat of extra glossy paint.
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There was a time when only people who had heard of Colin McRae would be the ones to consider picking up a game that had his name on it. Unfortunately, with the great rally cross driver’s passing in 2007, his games have dropped his name, and soldiered on under Codemasters’ “Dirt” franchise, re-branding it, an opening it up to a new audience. The first “Dirt” was a racing experience unlike any other on the current generation of consoles, and “Dirt 2” follows it up, taking the original title to the extreme.
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The “Need for Speed” franchise is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and what better way to do it than by re-imagining the series, and releasing three completely different versions of the game. Fifteen years is a long time for any franchise, much less one whose key mechanic is driving, and with the release of “Need for Speed: Shift” the series has gotten a beautiful and realistic makeover.
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Since the first Scooby-Doo video game was released in 1986, Mystery Inc. has seen its fair share of releases, including three in the previous console generation. I fear that it may devalue my credibility of being a fan of the series, but I must admit that I have never played, seen, or heard about any of them, until earlier this week where I was shown a preview of the next Scooby-Doo game “Scooby-Doo First Frights” for the Wii and Playstation 2 (there’s also a DS version, but it wasn’t shown).
During this demo it was brought to my attention that that this game continued in the tradition of the last few releases, as well as the original cartoon, by including something that very few video games have, a laugh track; the prerecorded laughter of a studio audience.
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Ascending a damned peak in the Himalayas may not be at the top of anyone’s To Do list, but sometimes your crazy younger brother manages to piss off an ancient goddess, and you have to go and try to save him. Such is the burden of one Frank Simmons, the main character of Deep Silver’s latest Wii title, “Cursed Mountain,” as he is tasked with climbing the fictional Himalayan peak Chomolonzo in search of his missing treasure hunter brother, Eric. As you may imagine, it’s not a smooth ride to the top, but for all its bumps, it’s a game unlike anything else on the Wii.
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"Deadly Towers"; it's a title that often provokes looks of disgust (among other things) from gamers that are old enough to have owned a Nintendo Entertainment System. In spite of this, twenty-three years after I played the game for the first time, I've finally found some kind of a redeeming value about the worst game that I have ever played.
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Due to licensing issues certain "Tatsunoko" characters needed to be dropped for the U.S. release, but Capcom has promised to compensate for the missing characters with new ones. While it has already been confirmed that Phoenix Wright is out, Capcom has a thirty-year history of characters they can pull from to fill the holes. Here are just a few suggestions of characters that should make their way into "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom."
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It’s not hard to make a scary game these days. The recipe is pretty simple; a pinch of dark atmosphere, a sprinkle of ghosts here or there, mixed together with something jumping out from behind a corner. A lot of those techniques have been done to death already.
After checking out Deep Silver’s upcoming survival horror game, “Cursed Mountain” for the Wii, there was one aspect of the game that I just couldn’t shake after walking out of the demo. It wasn’t the Himalayan mountain setting, or the ghosts of Monks that prey on anyone that ventures on their sacred ground, or the fact that the game pulls from Tibetan and Buddhist folklore to create something that could have actually happen. No, it wasn’t any of that.
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