Review: Marvel Pinball - Vengeance and Virtue (XBLA)

I am going to start at the end like so many stories and say, right away, if you're a fan of pinball you owe it to yourself to pick up Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue right away. I have exclaimed my love for Pinball FX2 and many of their tables time and time again, so it should come as no surprise that I'm about to do it once more. The Vengeance and Virtue pack collects four tables—X-Men, Thor, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider—and regardless of Marvel fanboyism, all four tables are as fun as Moon Knight is crazy.

Speaking of Moon Knight, his table really is a bit crazy and I love it for that. The occasional interactions with Khonshu and his dialog are fun and there's just a charm about the table, such as the way Bushman sneaks up on Moon Knight when triggering his fight. The table is a bit dull stylistically and palette-wise, but Moon Knight has never been the most colorful character; speaking purely literal here. What the table lacks in color it makes up for in charm and personality and that makes for a great Moon Knight table and a great table overall.

Click to read more ...

Review: Trine 2 (XBLA)

Trine 2 is an overload of color; it is the definition of high saturation. Take LIMBO, picture the opposite in terms of color; voilà, welcome to Trine 2. The visuals are extremely vibrant, always beautiful, and I never got bored thanks to a nice degree of variety. The environmental change between levels and the detail within delighted my senses—well, just the one sense—and tops many retail games in its downloadable frame. I could go on and on about the loving way Trine 2 stabbed my eyes with millions of little pixels, but there is, surprisingly, more than just graphical splendor when it comes to Trine 2.

If you played the original Trine, guess what, Trine 2 is more of the same; however, if you're new to the series, Trine 2 is a puzzle-platformer with occasional bits of action. The hook is the ability to switch between three different characters on the fly at any time, all of who have their own specific abilities. The mage, Amadeus, can conjure up boxes (or platforms with an upgrade) to reach new areas or manipulate the environment; the thief, Zoya, has a bow and can use a grappling hook to traverse to new heights, literally; and the knight, Pontius, can use his might to fight for what's right as he smites foes until they die—he can also open up blocked pathways with his big ol' hammer.

Click to read more ...

Freebie Alert: Jetpack Joyride, Velocispider, and cans too

A few quality games have gone free for the day and you would be a fool to pass, a fool with no class, the most foolish of fools to not download each and every one. The first game, Jetpack Joyride, I reviewed months ago and it's easily one of the best iOS games released all year. It is an extremely common "get as far as you can" game, but it's highly polished and a whole lotta fun. If you don't grab this game while it's free, you don't deserve that phone and/or tablet.

The next freebie you should pick up and play as you go camping in your tipi is Velocispider. The game is, in a way, a mashup between Space Invaders and Missile Command where you control a part velociraptor, part spider, part robot, all awesome, all ready to kick ass without needing the excuse of no bubblegum, all while protecting three innocent eggs. It's a lot of fun and one of those rare tilt-based games I find enjoyable and surprisingly comfortable to control.

Click to read more ...

GBA Ambassador games available now on 3DS

If you have a 3DS and happen to be an "Ambassador"—you surely know by now if you are or aren't—today is the day you've been waiting for; you see, the Gameboy Advance games promised so many months ago are finally here!  The NES games were fine and dandy, somewhat disappointing, and I only cared for a few of them; however, having played all ten games for about ten to fifteen minutes, I pretty much love all but one of the GBA games included—Mario Kart: Super Circuit doesn't hold up particularly well, especially obvious with the release of Mario Kart 7.

The full list can be found below, but my stand out inclusions are The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and my personal favorite: Metroid Fusion—which is still fantastic. Another nice addition since the release of the NES games is the ability to download multiple games at once, conveniently maxing out at ten; it may not be the most ideal or user-friendly system, but it's better than nothing. My last words: these games, without question, validate the Ambassador Program. Now go download the awesome!

Click to read more ...

Review: Footprints #2

I reviewed Footprints #1 a long, long time ago when it was still a mere Kickstarter project looking for a little kicking to get started. I really enjoyed it; so much, in fact, I ended up backing the project—it's still the only project I've backed that was successfully funded. With the history lesson out of the way, you may be wondering what all of this is about, unless you read the title or looked at the header image above of course; however, in case you're a bit slow, I'm talking Footprints #2 here—better late than never.

"Yeti always said it was luck that won us the war. Luck that brought us together. Lookin' back, he was right. I've just never been able to figure if he meant good or bad." I enjoy this quote and, for the most part, really enjoyed Footprints #2. The issue starts with a nice bit of back-story and quickly jumps back into the present, delivering a lot of information in only twenty-three pages, all without ever feeling overbearing. The only criticism I have is that which really isn't criticism: I wanted to continue reading as soon as the issue ended.

Click to read more ...

Dead Island 99% off, you save $$5,952.01

Talk about a deal you'd legitimately call a steal; Dead Island's list price of $5,999.00 seems a tad steep, but at $46.99 (99% off), how can anyone say no? An obvious price mistake already fixed on Amazon's site, I found it somewhat funny and said to myself, "what the hell, why not post it?" Sure, it may be the early hours bringing the majority of my amusement, but if I managed to chuckle, at least one other person must come to chuckles too. A full picture can be found below and all I can say is I hope Dead Island finds a rather cheap price for Black Friday as I'd love to snatch up a copy.

Click to read more ...

Abobo's Big Adventure: official trailer of official loveliness

Abobo's Big Adventure is basically a machete to the face and a steel-toe boot to the balls of the NES, and I mean that in the most positive way. There are no words capable of doing the trailer justice, butter it's better than crack and that ain't whack! When Whitney Houston was high as a kite with coke up her nose, singing she will always love you, she was talking about this game. Stop reading this and just watch the trailer over and over again. And if you feel so inclined, check out the official site: Abobo's Big Adventure

The Cursed Crusade: Decapitating Haircuts

I mentioned my distaste for The Cursed Crusade a week or so ago, specifically citing an oddity coming from the process of decapitation. In The Cursed Crusade, the Xbox 360 demo at least, decapitation not only cuts off one's head, but completely removes their hair as well, which some could call a haircut. Well, I didn't only want to tell you about this, but show you the loveliness too; and now that I have the ability to do so, I did do so indeed. Enjoy some video proof of decapitating haircuts, the only haircut you'll ever need.

Thomas Was Alone until watching this trailer

Because watching this trailer makes me want to offer my company, and hopefully does the same for you. Thomas Was Alone: "a minimalist game about friendship and jumping." Minimalist art, if done well, is one of my loves and this announcement trailer shows off the visuals in such a way that makes me want to play this here little game today. The trailer has also apparently filled me with enough glee to start rhyming and I always enjoy a good rhyme. In addition to lovely visuals and an interesting style of play, the music featured is a beautiful original piece by David Housden, who's supplying all of the game's music. Anyway, Thomas Was Alone has a planned release of April 2012 for PC and Mac—let the impatient waiting begin. Be sure to follow the game's mastermind, Mike Bithell, on Twitter for all the updates you'll ever need.

Review: The War of the Worlds (XBLA)

The War of the Worlds' greatest accomplishment is bestowing upon me the knowledge that Sir Patrick Stewart should spend the rest of his life narrating most audiobooks; and by most, I mean each and every audiobook from now until the end of time. But as great as Stewart's wonderfully soothing and inviting narration is, it lost a lot of its impact when I heard it eight times in a row due to cheap deaths, or hearing it get cut off in mid-sentence because I passed a very specific point in a level. And if it isn't already obvious, my praising of the game's narration above all else should be rather telling of the overall quality.

The War of the Worlds is, yes, based off the story penned by H.G. Wells and does a particularly good job at creating the morbid atmosphere of this well-known story of an alien invasion. Often, the visuals feature lovely bits of contrast, both literally and figuratively—contrast of colors, light and dark, and life and death. That said, there are moments when the visuals come across muddy and a tad ugly when I took the time to stop and look at them, but most of the time, the game is beautifully stylized and suits the subject matter extremely well.

Click to read more ...