Gwenster`s Top 5 Downloadable Games of 2008

It`s quite funny how I never expected to actually pay for Xbox Live Arcade games when Microsoft first pitched for this, it probably has more to do with the games that were available then as opposed to the wide array of amazing titles now more than anything else. As of now, I own a total of 39 Xbox360 games, 16 of which are Xbox live arcade games ! On avarage, I play more short sittings on a daily basis of an XBLA game, as opposed to a full triple A retail title ! That`s just saying something about the quality of these downloadable games these days who`s roots are deeply in the oldskool.

Just like the Xbox 360 before it, the Playstation 3 also has had a slow start with downloadable games on their playstation network service.
However 2008 saw an increase in great and innovative exclusive titles for the big black monolith as well such as Everyday shooter, Pixeljunk Eden and WipeoutHD amongst titles. Slowly but steadily, my PSN list of downloadable games is also expanding and I don`t see the trend stopping for either console in 2009.

Since I have *WAY* more downloadable games than Brett, I`ll actually make a proper top 5.

#5. Bionic commando: Re-armed, Available on PS3,X360 and PC

Capcom`s re-imagining of their classic NES game is brilliant.
The gameplay is still very hardcore oldksool and as such the high difficulty may keep avarage players at bay, but regardless this is one top-quality production and an excellent action platformer, one of the best !


#4. Braid, available on X360,PS3,PC

Brilliant puzzle platforming game, which seems simple and boring in the first levels or so but ends up becomming a trip of mental self exploration.
It`s hard to describe Braid, you will just need to find out for yourself by playing the demo.


#3. Geometry Wars 2, Available on X360 (Exclusive)

Over the top geometric violence in your face ! THE remake of the classic, re-invited again with six wildely different gameplay modes to conquor and 4 player multiplayer fun finish the package.


#2. Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix, Available on X360, PS3

This oldskool 2D fighter returns with a flick of new paint, slick re-drawn HD sprites and a killer fan-made soundtrack ! Don`t worry if your flatmates think your uncool playing this 15 year old re-made classic as you can take the fight online, lagfree and complete with tournament modes out of the box. This highly competitive fighting game will keep you coming for more pain.


#1. Wipeout HD, Available on PS3 (Exclusive)

Fast,faster, fastest, too bloody fast ! Wipeout is back, and how. Taking the aestitics from the later installments found exclusivly on the PSP (Pulse and Pure) this new Wipeout features 16 tracks, a lot of cars for each style of player and best of all the best graphics in a downloadable game seen to date. Pulse pounding soundtrack, brutal online gameplay and new ways to manouver your craft. This is *THE* definitive Wipeout game out there.


Games of high note

#Ikaruga - Didnt include my top 5 cause its a straight port of an old ( BUT AWESOME) game so it oesnt really count for a new 2008 game

#Rez HD - Altough beautifully remastered and well worth the money, it`s still not included in my top 5 for the same reason as Ikaruga

#Castle crashers - 4 player co-op violent yet funny side-scrolling oldskool brawling action ! KAPROW !

#Galaga legions - Wonderfull re-imagination, just fell a bit short with the super awesomeness in my top5, would have made my top10 tough !

Brett's top 3 Downloadable games of 2008

I don't buy as many download games as retail, so I will only do a top 3. nevertheless 2008 was a good year.

#3: Super Street fighter 2 Turbo HD remix (Xbox 360)

I used to work at a place that had an Original SF II Machine, and played it all the time. My wife and I put in many hours on the SNES version. SF II is deeply engrained in my heart, even though I am not a hardcore player. This is the best version to date.

#2: Bionic Commando Rearmed (Playstation 3)

What an amazing remake. It takes everything great about the NES game and polishes it to perfection. Co-op is great.

#1: Galaga Legions (Xbox 360)

This re-imagining took me completely by surprise. I have never been a big fan of Galaga, Gorf, or any similar archaic pattern shooters, but something about Galaga legions just crawls inside my brain and puts me in my happy place. The presentation is gorgeous, and the game play is varied and easy to get into.

Gwenster`s Top 5 games of 2008

I can`t say that I am already fondly looking back at all the great games that have been released in 2008 simply because I will still be playing the abundance of games that have been released in 2008 well into 2009. With titles such as Fallout3, Mirrors edge, Dead space, Rockband 2 , Far Cry 2 and many more still waiting patiently on my shelf to be played and finished !

Yes, 2008 has been a great year for gaming that saw a dizzying amount of quality
game releases troughout, most notably alot of them concentrated in the November timeframe. Aside from the AAA titles, that everybody knows about years in advance, we`ve also seem quite some surprising entries and new franchises that swooped in from under the radar to deliver a crushing blow to your wallet for having to purchase them. The most notable pair of these kind of titles is arguably Valkyria chronicles on the PS3 and Sins of a solar empire on the PC.

What follows is my own personal top 5 spread across all platforms, and as a disclaimer like Brett`s statement, my list is also purely subjective to my own gaming pleasure and personal taste so by all means dont take this as a definitive.

#5. Dead Space Available on PC,X360,PS3

Dead Space is one of the two major new franchises that EA started this year.
This is a third-person horror/adventure game with the oceasional puzzle elements thrown in, very simular in a way to Resident evil albeit with far superior combat and a creepy atmosphere that can be very tense and haunting at the same time.


Actually now that I think of it, you can best describe this as a very mature Metroid game as it borrows elements from that with the learn new abilities, get new weapons thing and track back for the unlockables you couldnt earlier. The new approach to engrossing you into the world by completly removing any "out of game" HUD`s, indicators and making everything refer to the character your playing is a great idea and adds to the atmosphere even more, fidgetting with your map or what not could actually get you killed for example. All in all, just go play this, with the lights off, and the (surround) sound on !


#4. Saints row 2 Available on X360,PS3

I bought GTA4 when it came out, I played it intensivly for 2 weeks, then dropped it. Why ? it just wasn`t fun anymore as no matter how good the sandbox world around you was constructed the gameplay mechanics were still very archiac. The same annoyances I had in GTA3, I now have 3 installments later (Vice city and San andreas in between offcourse) in GTA4. Namely -no mid mission saves- it can be very bothersome if you happen to die on a silly little whim to start over again at your apartment afterwards. With all your spent ammo gone meaning you have to spend minutes in preperation before going at it again, over and over if it`s a tough mission.

Saints row 2 shows you that the focus on your game shouldn`t be to cram as much things in a city, that work around you. ( who cares about watching TV with your in-game character ?) and focus on fun, sheer fun and lots of ways to have fun.
Sure, Saints Row 2`s activities may not be the most serious of all the things in gameland with spraying shit out of a truck on houses, riding around on fire lighting other things up ?? But it`s just fun, it works and the main storyline is really good.
Not to mention, the in-game co-op, expansive customisation ?
Volition put the fun back in sandbox cities.

#3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the patriots, available on: PS3 (exclusive)

The fourth installment in the "Solid" series of Metal gear games which is also according to producer Hideo Kojima, the last in which he will directly has his hand involved and the last in which the character Solid Snake will be in. Since obviously, Konami wouldn`t be quick to hang up this cash cow just yet I assume more metal gear titles will submerge to expand the universe, albeit with different characters.
I probably don`t need to go into the gameplay details here as everybody who reads this blog should be aware of what Metal Gear is about and how it plays.


Metal Gear Solid 4 is a great experience if you like cinematic types of games, something that Hideo Kojima knows how to do very well. As such, the typical complaints from most avarage, or hardcore (action) gamers have been that the cutscenes were way too long and etc. etc. Didn`t bother me at all.

It is too bad that Metal Gear Online aspect of the game is too tacked on, I had high hopes for it but in the end the levels were too small, with too many players in them meaning that you ended up being killed by somebody as you spawn ! If the levels were bigger, and the player caps kept realistic it would have been such a better experience. Nevermind the 1 hour signup process for MGO, having to create not one, but 3 seperate new accounts alongside your PSN account is just ridiculous !

Still, this is the best in the series and damn; now I`ve got to show my metal gear to my girlfriend, cause it is very solid.

#2. Sins of a Solar Empire, Available on PC (Exclusive)

Space opera RTS strikes back ! From the small indie creators of Galactic Civilisation (galciv) comes this true gem of strategy gaming. Sins of a Solar Empire boldly goes where no RTS game has gone before, deftly combining the empire-building of 4X strategy games (explore, exploit, expand, exterminate) with the tactical precision of real-time strategy. Despite not being a triple A, well hyped title this game surprisingly was one of the best sold games of 2008 on the PC and got so many awards it`s insane. Just shows you that if you truly have insight as a developer into what makes great gameplay that no matter the genre of your game, it`d appeal to the masses.

#1. Valkyria Chronicles, Available on PS3 (exclusive)

Allright this was a total surprise to me as well. For the Western gamer this game came out of nowhere as this is a Japanese strategy RPG and we all know how those can be. Valkyria Chronicles does it all right from storyline,gameplay to graphics.
It`s single player only, but it shouldn`t hamper you down since the single player game has alot going for it. If the storyline and gameplay alone weren`t enough crack for you to keep on playing, the developers have also put into place that you gradually get new skills, weapons,items and ways to adopt various new strategies or abilities with each new mission, shifting and shaping the style you play with every session is very addictive indeed as it keeps you thinking. I love it !


Noteworthy mentions that didnt make it

Left 4 Dead

+ Great multiplayer experience
+ Very original concept, well tought out.
- Graphics could`ve been way better ..
- Ally AI is so bad that Single player is just not a viable option
- Could have been "more" to it


Gears of War 2

+ Bigger, better, faster,stronger
- More of the same, except it`s bigger,better, faster, stronger I.E should have tried to innovate more.


Mirrors Edge

+ Parkcore baby ! Very innovative new type of platforming gameplay
+ Very cool graphical style
+ Timetrial mode
+ Great soundtrack
- *WAY* too short . .
- Storyline and writing pretty much absent !

Brett's Top 5 games of 2008

This has been one of the most amazing years ever for video games. The sheer amount of great games coming out just in this quarter is staggering. It is impossible for any normal person to be able to play them all. Here are my personal picks for the best games of 2008 based on what I have played. This list is totally subjective and based strictly on what I enjoyed the most.

#5: Resistance 2 (Playstation 3)

Having enjoyed the original Resistance Fall of Man I expected to enjoy Resistance 2, what I never would have guessed in a million years was that I enjoyed it more than Gears of War 2 which it pushed right out of my top 5! R2 is a gorgeous game, which features an enjoyable single player campaign as well as a very robust selection of online modes. In a lot of ways it feels like a Sci-fi version of COD 4 which means I see myself playing R2 online for months to come.

#4: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Playstation 3)

I had only dabbled in previous MGS games. I liked the atmosphere and story, but the actual game mechanics always made me eventually quit. With the latest installment Konami westernized the control scheme getting rid of the clunky 32 bit legacy. I beat MGS 4 and loved every minute of it. The extremely long cut scenes, bizarre Japanese sense of humor and melodrama, aren't everybody's cup of tea, but for my money this game is a Masterpiece.

#3: Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360)

I really liked the original Saints Row, it was a bit rough around the edges, but could definitely hang with GTA San Andreas, actually being the first Open world game to have enjoyable combat. Saints Row 2 however totally blew me away. It just took everything that was good about the original and turned the volume up to 11. In my opinion SR 2 is a better game than GTA 4 for the simple reason that it has far better Game play than GTA 4. GTA 4 was a high concept looking for a game, and the thing that got sacrificed in the process was FUN... and one thing that Saints Row 2 definitely is is fun.

#2: Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)

My Review of this game pretty much says it all. 70 hours of gaming pleasure with plenty of stuff left to see when I replay it (which I will quite soon) Not to mention substantial Downloadable content just over the Horizon. Fallout 3 is a must buy.

#1: Valkyria Chronicles (Playstation 3)

If someone had told me a year ago that my game of the year would be a Japanese RPG I'd have told them they were insane. I quit playing that genre seriously with the Sega Saturn. The simple fact is that Valkyria chronicles is the single most pure gaming experience that I have had in years. It just does everything right, from the story, to the presentation, to the delicious gameplay. I cannot Overstate what a joy this game is to play, and what a breath of fresh air it is in the most stale genre of console game that there is. Anyone who has a PS3 should get this game.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Bigger and badder with some nice refinements but still fundamentally the same game. Shitty vehicle parts really annoyed me. Horde mode is awesome!

Left 4 Dead: (Xbox 360)

A total blast to play with friends, just wish the graphics were better.

Farcry 2 (Xbox 360)

Great visuals, extremely immersive. Innovative mix of FPS and open world. Having Malaria sucks. Not far enough in to judge much more than that.

The mystery behind Valkyria Chronicles

Originally having been brought to the blog`s attention by Brett in THIS mini-review it has since been two or three weeks since we`ve both gotten our hands on the game.

I`m writing this after reading something rather disturbing about what is one of my top three games of 2008, namely:

" Sega revealed that only 33,000 copies of Valkyria Chronicles for PS3 were sold in North America during the month of November, it seems the game has been largely ignored by American gamers. "

Now that`s just sad, I`m now two weeks into "VC" and really enjoying this game. I even picked up Resistance 2 and Little Big planet and Wipeout HD during the time I`ve had "VC" and all I`m doing on my PS3 is playing "VC"

Not only does the game get deeper as you progress so does the bonds between the characters in your squad. There was one particular bit where I downright turned angry at an event which made me realize just how much the story writing will make you care for your squad members. Probably halfway in the game, I`m still getting new types of weapons, strategies and items or gameplay elements that keep on changing the game every mission you progress. It`s very addictive, the creators have nailed it.



I know that console gamers generally arent big buffs as far as any sort of strategic game is concerned. With Sins of a Solar empire being the biggest selling RTS this year,but on the PC Platform. On the other hand turn-based strategy games such as Final Fantasy:Tactics, Advance wars sell like mad on handheld devices, which indicates that Western people do like these sort of games, so why not "VC" ? Is it cause it`s on the PS3 and people are automatically biased about it since if it`s on the PS3 it`s inherantly bad or worse than a game on the Wii or Xbox 360 ? Or is the crowd for home consoles just different to the crowd that has handhelds ?

One can`t say for sure, since these days most gamers do own multiple consoles be it handheld or home.

All I can really say in the end, is that alot of people are missing out a great game, and it doesn`t seem likely that publishers will take more risks bringing these types of games over from the land of the rising sun; a shame for the future of gamers who do enjoy these sorts of games .

GAME REVIEW: Street Fighter 2 Turbo : HD Remix

For those that know me, I have been saying this over and over for the past 1 1/2 year that Capcom is doing extremely good business in the next-gen market. Releasing excellent sequels to their existing franchises, but also being just about the only developer out there that can take their decade old franchises, and completly restart them by bringing out a remake or shake a new megaman game out of their pockets. The latest offering from Capcom in their line of online distributed games is Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix (SF2THD)



Regardless if your a hardocre gamer or not, you will have heard of Capcom`s Street Fighter series, being hailed as one of the best fighter series known to man where you would either spend a large amount of your allowance on the arcade cabinets or if you were rich and lucky enough, owned the cartridge on the Super Nintendo back in the day.With SF2THD, Capcom aims to bring back those old days. The game remains based on 2D sprites as the original, but now the sprites have beencompletly redrawn so they wont look bad on modern HDTV`s and let me tell you it looks absolutly beautiful.



I wont go into depth into the gameplay, as it`s Street Fighter come on what else do I need to tell you about the gameplay ? What I will tell you about tough, is just how great this game runs in multiplayer.Got a bunch of friends and you want to see who`s best ? Not a problem with the built in tournament mode! Players who wait for their match can talk amongst themselves and observe the match. What`s even more miraculous is that the online gameplay is completly lag-free! If your not up for a full-blown tourney, than that`s o.k since you can just play versus another friend, or if your not a social gamer with nobody in your friends list you can always just simply take the fight online against a random opponent trough matchmaking, ranked and un-ranked !

Should you feel particularly nostalgic, there is always the option to play the game using it`s original sprites and hitboxes. All in all, for fans of the series, or people that just love old-skool fighting games be sure to grab this for either Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, for sale on their respective networks for around 15$ or 1200 MS points which for a game this polished, is a complete steal.

If there is one thing I have to complain about, it`s got to be the Xbox 360 D-PAD or lack thereoff. Originally I was hellbent on getting this game on the Playstation 3 due to it`s superior D-PAD however the PS3 version hasn`t hit PSN in Europe yet due to some strange localisation process Sony is blaming it on. Due to peer pressure however, and realising that I had 10 times as many friends to play with on the X360 ver as compared to the PS3, I went with the Xbox 360 version. And there we go, I can barely pull off a dragonpunch when I want to on the 360`s pad. It`s realy horrible, as it`s not even an actual D-PAD, I mean look at it ! It`s a circle that serves as a pedestal for a D-PAD that looks "mashed in" It may be bearable for DOA since most the attack combinations just feature pressing either direction, but for something as precise as Street Fighter it just doesnt cut it.



Fortunatly, Hori makes some great affordable arcade sticks for the Xbox 360. Capcom will be releasing their own SF4 arcade perfect arcade sticks as soon as SF4 ships on the next-gen consoles and personally I am waiting for these SF4 sticks - having already had the privilage to play on an actual SF4 arcade cabinet in Japan They really do feel great and have a better action button layout compared to the HORI`s.



In closing, I personally wouldn`t care if all Capcom would do now is make game re-makes, or re-imaginations or hell even sequels of old games like Megaman cause they are just so damn good at doing it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

COMIC REVIEW: Legion of Super-Heroes vol 1

Wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up at the library. I was familiar with the original Legion of super-heroes from their appearances in 50s Superman comics, but have not read either of the subsequent reboots. Lately I have been becoming more and more a fan of DC comics from this decade. In those books, I find myself more drawn to second and third tier characters than "The big 3" of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, because writers have to work harder to make interesting stories with them. 2005's Legion of Super Heroes: Teenage Revolution is no exception, in fact, it's one of the best books I've read in quite some time.

I've always been a sucker for subversive tales of idealistic youth standing up against a repressive society. This book evokes the same kind of atmosphere as JK Rowling's Harry Potter series does in that respect. One could certainly hear the legion's motto of "Eat it Granpa!" coming out of one of her characters mouths. The revamped legionaires are nicely fleshed out and made modern, while still retaining a charming degree of innocence. The art work looks great with plenty of eye candy to go around.

The interpersonal dynamics feel more like a classic Marvel book, like Clairmont era X-men than a DC book, though thankfully without a large amount of classic Marvel angst. I think anyone who likes Super hero teams and subversive themes should check this out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In memory of Kevin

Gallian Shock trooper Kevin Abbot fell on the field of battle at 3:25 PM today. He was brutally murdered by an Imperial shock trooper as he lie wounded near the enemy's base. He fought valiantly as a part of Gallian Militia Squad 7 in many battles, and gave his life to protect his fellow troopers Rosie and Jane. He was swiftly avenged by Lt. Gunther, who enraged at Kevin's death, rammed his way through numerous obstacles to shoot down the murderer with his tank's machine gun. Kevin will be missed.

All kidding aside. Valkyria chronicles continues to amaze me. I really am saddened by the fact that I lost kevin. He wasn't a main character or anything, just another foot soldier. SEGA injected enough personality into every character, no matter how minor that I actually care when they die. I applaud them for making death a permanent thing. It gives you pause without taking away from the fun of the game. I have played a lot of turn based strategy games over the years. I've always been ruthless about using my troops as cannon fodder, but I simply can't do that in Valkyria chronicles! If you have a PS3, you have got to play this game.

Vacancy single up on iTunes!!!

Vacancy by Kylee, the Ending single for studio BONES' awesome anime series Bounen no Xam'd is now available on US iTunes!

I've wanted this song since I first heard it. I had Gwenster looking for the single in Japan but it just now came out.

Kylee is an artist I've been unable to find anything at all about. The 3 songs of hers I have heard are all in english and she has a perfect North American accent which leads me to believe she is originally from The US or Canada. Give the song a listen and if you like it please support her.

The Opening theme: Shut up and explode by the Boom boom satellites is also available, along with their entire album Exposed.

GAME REVIEW: Resistance 2

I already shared many of my feelings about Resistance 2 for Playstation 3 in my first impression post which can be found here . I took an extended break from playing the game because of Fallout 3 addiction, but have now finished it. Surprisingly my enthusiasm for the game has only grown.

Resistance 2's campaign has been getting a lot of mediocre reviews. The word "Competent" keeps popping up. I honestly cannot understand this. Is it the pressure of reviewing the massive onslaught of good games this holiday season that has made reviewers beyond Jaded? Is it anti Playstation 3 sentiment? In some cases I'd say yes, but that doesn't explain the reactions of some resistance 1 fans who said they had high hopes and were disappointed, probably the most prominent example of that is Mr erratic from 1up.com himself, Garnett glug glug Lee. Another Criticism I have heard is that while the set pieces are huge they feel too much in the background. I'd argue that the huge unapproachable nature of these alien structures makes them all the more menacing.


The Graphics in Resistance 2 are beautiful. it has probably the best use of color that I've ever seen in a game. It's a stark contrast to Resistance Fall of Man's washed out Saving private Ryan inspired Aesthetic, rather like going from Black and white film to technicolor.

The gameplay, like the original is very linear, in the vein of the Half-Life, and Call of Duty series. The check points are well placed, making you feel challenged without ever being unfair.

The action can be frantic at times, such as in the beginning of the Chicago mission where a massive horde of Grims (think bigger badder Left 4 Dead zombies) charges you. By the end the bodies were ankle deep all the way up the street, it was an awesome display of carnage.

Most of the levels feature some kind of environmental hazard and increasingly large and impressive bosses. In fact Resistance 2 may have the largest boss ever in an FPS. The sequence in question felt like a reenactment of Cloverfield. I hate bosses in games as a general rule, but none of these were too hard, nor too easy, I actually enjoyed most of them due to the spectacle.



Resistance: Fall of Man's story and characters never really captured my imagination, though I did enjoy the oldskool gameplay. In contrast I found myself attached to my team in resistance 2 and even starting to identify a bit with the still rather wooden Nathan Hale, who makes Marcus Fenix seem deep by comparison.

I love the Halo games, as well as the universe they reside in, but I have at times just sleepwalked my way through them. I found the single player in Resistance 2 to be tighter and more enjoyable than that of Halo 3, and definitely more visceral.

I haven't played Gears of War 2 yet (gotta save something for X-mas) so I can't say for certain, but as of right now Resistance 2 is my shooter of the year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Valkyria Chronicles

Having just finished 2 amazing games: Fallout 3, and Resistance 2, I was eager to continue my unparalleled streak of good luck with games, and try the really interesting looking Valkyria chronicles for Playstation 3. So far it seems my luck is holding out, and then some!

Valkyria Chronicles is a Japanese Tactical RPG in the vein of the Disgaea, and Final Fantasy Tactics series. I have never played any of those games before, though I used to be into both JRPGs and Turn based strategy games way back in the 16 bit era, though I have completely lost interest in the former in recent years.

Valkyria Chronicle's presentation, novel setting (an alternate world fantasy take on WW 2) and the fact that the main character isn't a whiny kid, where enough to make me want this game.

So after pawning off GTA 4 and Bioshock I picked up the game. So far I am extremely impressed the battle system is fun and innovative. The mixing of real time movement with turn based strategy works perfectly. Facing an enemy tank on foot is truly fearsome. There is a real sense of tension on the battlefield.

The presentation, and story are both so far very good. The English voice track is very good, though the original Japanese is available as well if you want. (Gotta love that extra Blu-ray storage).

This is truly the greatest time to be a gamer. I have never seen so many stellar games come out in such a short time. I will write a full review of Valkyria Chronicles once I beat it.

Playstation Home

Playstation 3's social networking/virtual game lobby application, Home is now online in the form of a free public beta.

My first impressions of home are a very pretty, but much more locked down and small scale version of Second Life, crossed with the lobbies from Phantasy Star Online. Those familiar with second life will probably feel a bit frustrated at just how restrictive the world of Home is. you won't be jumping over the rail of your balcony and exploring the marina any time soon.

The graphics are quite beautiful. The avatars are very customizable and well made, though the editor is much less useful than the one in Saints Row 2. Of the few places currently available to go, I like the bowling alley best. It is a good place to socialize, play pool, and bowl. The Movie Theater is also pretty cool, but it reeks of marketing, and sitting watching trailers of crappy vampire romance movies aimed at tweens is not very thrilling.

The Mall is pretty empty at the moment which is too bad because I want to get a TV and some furniture that doesn't suck for my apartment. The real potential for Home is a meeting place for things like virtual anime/sci-fi clubs, who can hang out and watch the latest episode of Soul Eater, or Torchwood off of one of the member's Hard drive on the virtual TV.

I already met my first Griefer, and most of the people around were acting like idiots, but I still see that home has some potential. Sony really needs to get content in there fast though.

MOVIE REVIEW: Justice League: The new frontier

Justice League: The new frontier is the second in DC's new line original animated movies. I received this as a birthday present in March, and it was one of the first Blu-rays I owned.

Based on Darwyn Cooke's 6 part mini series, TNF, explores the formation of the justice league in the cold war paranoia of the 1950s. It does a great job of evoking the period with the retro character designs and setting. The pacing is fast and the movie is entertaining from beginning to end.

The artwork is clean and simple, but well done. The color work is fantastic and looks amazing on Blu-ray. The actual animation is a mixed bag. The characters look great in motion, but some of the 3d work while cel shaded seamlessly, is animated a little stiff. Explosions and other effects all look great as I have come to expect from DC TV shows in the past.

The story itself is pretty mature, with references to suicide, murder, rape, and a fairly graphic depiction of Hal Jordan killing a man in self defense during the Korean war. I really like the tone of the movie it is adult, but subtle enough that I would let my (mature for his age) 9 year old watch it.

The voice cast is all new which means no Kevin Connroy as Batman. Despite that sad fact, Jeremy Sisto does an admirable job of making the Dark Knight suitably mysterious, cold and calculating. I particularly like the way he delivered this line to the martian manhunter: "I have a $70, 000 sliver of radioactive meteor to stop the one from Metropolis. With you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches."

I am no fan of casting famous actors in animated films, simply because they are famous, but the casting in this movie is pretty brilliant. Neil Patrick Harris as the flash? Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman? It doesn't get too much better in terms of casting. I was surprised to discover that Kyle Mcglaughlin played superman. He did a really great job of capturing the character as well. The only real weak point was the guy they got to play Hal Jordan. In my opinion he sounded too young.

I consider Justice League: the new frontier to be a must buy for fans of super hero comics, or super hero movies.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

GAME REVIEW: Fallout 3

Fallout 3, more than any other game I have ever played lives and dies by the axiom "It's not the destination, it's the journey".

Fallout 3 is a first person action role playing game by Bethesda Softworks, and based on Fallout 1 and 2 by Black Isle Studios in the 1990s. I played the Xbox 360 version.

The world of Fallout 3 is a bleak post apocalypse set some 200 years after a nuclear war. Humanity has clung to survival by it's fingernails and is starting to make a comeback in the strange new world, but as the game's tag line says "War never changes".

You start the game as an infant where you choose your appearance and sex, then go through a number of scenes depicting your childhood in an underground bomb shelter known as Vault 101. Gradually you learn how to control the game and select your character's attributes. Once your character becomes an adult, your Father leaves the vault without permission throwing your life into chaos. The game begins in earnest as you venture out into the irradiated wasteland that was once the Washington DC area in search of him.

Once loose in the capital wasteland the world is your Oyster. You can be whatever you want to be. a hero, a villain, or anything in between. I chose to be a right bastard. By the end I was known as "The scourge of humanity." and I loved every vile depraved minute of it.

Those familiar with Bethesda's other RPG series : The Elder Scrolls, will feel right at home because Fallout 3 plays very similarly to Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. I enjoyed Oblivion, but have never finished it. I am the type of person that rarely finishes long games, and the fantasy setting of Oblivion couldn't hold my attention. In contrast the gritty post apocalyptic setting of Fallout 3 sucked me in immediately and never let me go. Fallout 3 Makes some definite improvements over Oblivion. Lock picking is a lot more fun as is combat thanks to the VATS targeting system.


I've heard more than one game journalist on various podcasts bemoaning the extreme (sometimes just plain silly) level of violence in the game. To them I say: Grow a pair! This is not some very serious (Read: pretentious like GTA 4) game. The entire fallout series has always dripped with black humor. The Old ultraviolence fits very well with 80s pulp like Mad Max and Fist of the north star that the fallout universe springs from.

During your journey through the wastes you meet many interesting characters. Some of them can join you in your travels though you can only have one other person in your party (aside from mission specific people). The main story arc in Fallout 3 is good but nowhere near as engaging as that of Last year's Mass effect. It also ends abruptly and in a rather anticlimactic way. The ending is made up of snippets pieced together differently depending on what you did, and how good or bad you were. I felt the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying (though the sequence leading up to it was EPIC). Most of the fun I had in the game I had in side quests and just plain exploring. I was constantly blown away with just how much there was to do and see. After just under 70 hours I still feel there was a lot left to do that I didn't find. I will be replaying this game and very soon. I may play as a goody-goody hero, but most likely my inner dickhead will once again shine through.

Fallout 3 is a game that needs to be savored. If you rush through it and play only the main quest you will be disappointed and will be cheating yourself. Enjoy the journey, because Fallout 3's game play is it's own reward.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BSOD for Windom XP?

My enthusiasm for Boot Fighter Windom is somewhat curbed after Gwenster and I attempted some online play. Unfortunately with Gwen having a ping of 133 the game played in slow motion... literally. It was more like playing Chromehounds than Gundam VS Zeta Gundam. I'll reserve total judgement until I can play someone in the same hemisphere though.

Even worse the Blitz tactics mode seems completely broken, turning into a slide show as soon as a mass of enemies gets on screen. Our computers are ludicrously high spec for a game like this so that isn't the problem.

The game is still VERY much worth downloading though. The survival mode is extremely addictive and fun.

Memories of Axis

After reading Gwenster's article on Bootfighter Windom, I checked it out. I agree 100% with his review the game is a ton of fun and very reminiscent of the Versus series of games, maybe even better in some ways.

Seeing such a fun and exciting, yet totally free game really brought me back to when I was heavily into PC gaming and especially the mod scene in the late 90s. Those where heady times with many free mods coming out that often had far more innovative gameplay than the commercial products they were based on.

It also reminded me of a very special time in my gaming life. The time I met my bud Gwenster. Back around the end of 2000 or early 2001 I somehow stumbled on a forum devoted to an obscure Korean Mecha game called Axis. I was, and still am a fanatic for Japanese style giant robots. I had cut my teeth on the Armored Core series on PSX, but at that time was heavily into playing online PC shooters like Quake 2-3, Half-Life, and UT. Axis was a Hybrid of those two types of games.

Axis was a frantic and fast paced First person game that controlled like an FPS, but your robot also had thrusters and could fly around in space. The Mecha was highly customizable like in Armored Core, albeit with fewer parts. An entire community sprung up around playing the demo on the Axis forum at The Junkyard. That's where I met Gwenster. Back then he was known as Biohazard. And I was known as The Pacifier (This was years before that shitty Vin Diesel movie) At first I thought he was just a cocky little loudmouth but I soon saw that he had the skills to back it up. Eventually we became friends.

Back then I still only had a 56k modem so I regularly got my head handed to me, but I still have a lot of fond memories of epic battles in the starfield map which always reminded me of Gundam 0083.

A few of us went so far as to import the full game from Korea. It came with a really cool full color manual which I treasure to this day. Eventually the game even got a limited release in the US through Gamespy's, way ahead of it's time, and sadly half baked, Arcade service.

Eventually the Axis fandom began to cool off. Gwenster and I moved on to other games. Jamie systems, the company that made Axis had plans to make another mecha game but that never came to pass.

Like Windom, Axis was an easily mod-able game with it's assets unprotected and accessible. At one time I had an anime sound pack up for download that made the game feel more authentic. I intend to do the same for Windom when I have time.