Posted 6/23/11 6:12 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360
Just when you thought the Transformers of Michael Bay's movie universe had retreated into an Energon-induced coma, they're back for another round of Autobot vs. Decepticon gaming action. The "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" tie-in game is tasked with bridging the gap between the last film, "Revenge of the Fallen," and the upcoming third film, while also drawing upon the success of the critically praised "Transformers: War For Cybertron," which unfolded outside of the movie continuity.
Posted 10/26/10 2:24 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PSP, Reviews
The most recent game released in the "God of War" franchise, "Ghost of Sparta" unfolds somewhere between the first "God of War" and the mobile game "God of War: Betrayal" in Kratos' timeline, but it faces one of the biggest tests of all when it hits shelves this week: Can it live up to the high expectations set by its predecessor on the PSP?
Posted 9/30/10 5:57 pm EST by Rick Marshall in Reviews, Wii
If there's one niche the Nintendo Wii has cornered these days, it's the market for truly social gaming — not online gaming, but in-person, interactive, social experiences with a group of people who may or may not have any prior gaming experience. After laying the foundation for the Wii's fun, party-starting potential with titles like "Wii Sports" and "Wii Play," Nintendo is hoping to build on that foundation with "Wii Party," which just might be the most social of their party game collections thus far.
In order to review it properly, I enlisted the help of my wife, Jessica, to play through as much of the game as possible with me, and share some of her observations about how "Wii Party" plays for someone with significantly less gaming experience.
Posted 9/14/10 12:04 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PSP, Review
When Sega's "Valkyria Chronicles" arrived on the PlayStation 3 in 2008, its tactical role-playing format, unique visuals and epic storyline received high praise around the gaming community. Set in an alternate version of World War II-era Europe (dubbed "Europa"), the game offered massive amounts of gameplay and customizability, and become a fan-favorite title of sorts. It's sequel, "Valkyria Chronicles II," brings much of the same qualities to the PSP, and despite the move to the mobile platform, it manages to retain much of what made it so popular on the PS3, with some exceptions — good and bad.
Posted 4/29/10 10:26 am EST by Rick Marshall in Reviews, Wii
Capcom's ridiculously popular "Monster Hunter" franchise is back in action with "Monster Hunter Tri" for the Nintendo Wii, combining free online play with new hunting grounds, creatures, items, and equipment permutations. The new game also features undersea hunting grounds — a first for the series.
But does the series' debut on the Wii live up to the hype?
Posted 3/26/10 2:46 pm EST by Rick Marshall in Interviews
FROM SPLASH PAGE: When I spoke to "Penny Arcade" creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik last month, the conversation covered a lot of ground — including some talk of the "Nerdcore Rising" documentary that followed musician MC Frontalot on his first national tour. That tour culminated with a show at Penny Arcade Expo, the massive gaming convention organized by the webcomic duo.
Well, the webcomic's "rapper laureate" is at it again this year, bringing nerdcore to the masses at PAX East, which kicked off today in Boston and runs throughout the weekend.
The comics- and gaming-friendly rapper hits the stage tonight (Friday, March 26) with fellow geek-friendly musicians The Protomen, Anamanaguchi and Metroid Metal during the show's 8:30 PM EST concert. MTV Multiplayer editor Russ Frushtick is already on the show floor (so keep an eye out for new and updates), but I managed to get a preview of tonight's performance from the man himself, MC Frontalot.
Continue reading PAX East Preview: MC Frontalot Brings 'Zero Day' To Boston over at SplashPage.MTV.com.
Posted 1/13/10 10:30 am EST by Rick Marshall in PSP, Reviews
"Army Of Two: The 40th Day" hit the PS3 and PSP simultaneously this week, nearly two years after the original "Army of Two" impressed gamers with its blend of buddy-comedy fun and battlefield co-op action. In both platforms, your two-man team finds itself stuck in Shanghai, China, as another private security force takes over the city, blowing stuff up and generally ruining Salem and Rios' plans for a quick-and-easy contract. However, while the PSP version of the game follows a nearly identical story as its PS3 counterpart, that's where the similarities end.
Posted 11/16/09 3:16 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PS3, Reviews
With the "God of War Collection," Sony unleashes Kratos on the Playstation 3 with a double-feature of "God of War" and "God of War II" on a single Blu-Ray disc, remastered for high-definition video and accompanied by an array of PSN trophies and various other next-gen features. Oh, and it comes with a "God of War III" demo, too.
Posted 11/3/09 12:30 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PS3, Reviews
Fans of fighting games tend to have their loyalties divided between the "Tekken" and "Soul Calibur" franchises these days, with each side arguing the merits of their respective title and its various iterations over the last decade or so. The recently released "Tekken 6" raises that bar yet again, giving fighter fans a lot to be happy about and redefining the scope of the genre.
Posted 10/22/09 6:00 pm EST by Rick Marshall in PSP, Reviews
Released for the Nintendo DS earlier this year, "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" debuted on the PSP this week. The new version of "Chinatown Wars" offers much of the same experience as far as your ability to blow up, assassinate, terrorize and drug-hustle your way through Liberty City's underworld as its DS counterpart, with a variety of tweaks to the graphics and controls, as well as some extra missions exclusive to the PlayStation format.