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Dead Space with teabagging? I think not.

You’ve probably heard by now that Dead Space 2 is coming. If you loved the original Dead Space, then there’s plenty to be excited about. However, if you’re a curmudgeon like me, then you might still be a few things that don’t seem right. You see, as much as I liked the original, I have a couple of concerns about Dead Space 2.

Continue reading Why I’m concerned about Dead Space 2

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Don't let Astro's charms fool you--this game would suck out all the joy in your life.

Astro Boy: Omega Factor was a side-scrolling wonder on the Game Boy Advance. I own a copy, and to this day, I still enjoy the visceral thrill of smacking around an onslaught of robots using endless strings of combos. Because of my positive gaming experience with Astro Boy back in 2004, I was expecting that the PlayStation Portable version of Astro Boy: The Video Game would be halfway decent at the very least.

I was so wrong.

From the outset, Astro Boy: The Video Game tries so hard to be like its GBA predecessor. The PSP game is also side-scrolling, and some of Astro’s moves are eerily similar (i.e. pressing down and punch results in the finger laser). Even the button layout is reminiscent of Omega Factor as either shoulder keys would execute the special attack. Like Omega Factor, there are flying stages where you get to blast more robots while airborne.

Continue reading Playing Astro Boy: The Video Game feels like work

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It had to happen. After Sony introduced the PlayStation 3 Slim and Microsoft confirmed the Xbox 360 price drop, the onus was on Nintendo to follow suit with the Wii. Oh yeah, the scanned flyers announcing the Wii price drop certainly helped, but nothing beats hearing it from the House that Mario Built.

According to Nintendojo, it was confirmed during a retailer conference call that effective Sunday, September 27th, the Wii’s price tag would be trimmed down to $199. Earlier today, Engadget reported that Best Buy will also be selling the Wii at $199.

Continue reading What the imminent Wii price drop could mean to average gamers

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A couple of months ago, I made some unflattering observations about Scribblenauts‘ gameplay. My remarks were based on several Scribblenauts videos that were circulating during that time. Considering the buzz surrounding the game, quite a number of people weren’t very happy with what I said.

In fact, I had to delete several of the comments because they were oozing with vitriol and quite rude. No surprise there—this is the internet (see the Internet F**kwad Theory).

A website called Nintendo RAW also disagreed and revealed that a NeoGAF member/5th Cell staffer named Jackson (5th Cell is Scribblenauts’ developer) made a few comments about my observations:
Continue reading Scribblenauts’ gameplay really is flawed

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I was able to get my review copy of Scribblenauts yesterday. Because of this, I haven’t touched any other game for the past 24 hours. For the most part, I’m impressed because almost everything I input actually works. As you may have heard, you can literally call on God, summon a generic costumed superhero, or ride a time machine just for the heck of it.

During the first few minutes, I was ecstatic. There’s nothing quite like Scribblenauts. I was already having so much fun in the title menu summoning random objects; imagine how brain-melting it would be to play through the actual levels!

Reality then kicked in. You see, Maxwell, the protagonist, can only be controlled using the stylus but his pathfinding is pretty bad. For instance, if you command Maxwell to go to a specific point in the lower part of a level, he’d ignore your input and insist on moving towards the higher section. Maxwell would then get stuck by continuously jumping over an obstacle he can’t get over.

Continue reading Hands-On Impressions: Scribblenauts controls can be annoying

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