Review: DeathSpank - Thongs of Virtue (XBLA)

As you may recall, I recently reviewed DeathSpank, an action-RPG drenched in Ron Gilbert's tears. I have just finished the sequel, DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue, and it seems quite fitting to throw out another review. Just know that I may come across as a broken record as Thongs of Virtue has a lot of [expected] similarities to its younger brother.

For those who haven't played the original game -- I have no idea why you would want to play this if you haven't -- Thongs of Virtue is an action-RPG with beautiful, pop-up book visuals and the humor of Ron Gilbert. If you have played the original game, look forward to more of the same. When I say "more of the same," I mean exactly the same. There are quests that are essentially the same quests from the first game and I guess that is to be expected; both games were made simultaneously. While this may have been a good business decision, it makes for a horrible development decision.

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Review: Being Human (TV) - There Goes the Neighborhood

Being Human is a brand "new" series for the [still] horribly named Syfy Network. I use the quotes because this Being Human is actually based on a BBC show of the same name/premise. In case you lived/are living under a rock, you probably know that many American shows -- Being Human is actually filmed Canada, so North American is more accurate is this case -- are based off British shows, i.e. The Office,  All in the Family, and Three's Company too (I couldn't help it). I want to make sure that you understand I am not saying these remakes don't divulge from the original source material or that they aren't good, I just find it important to mention.

With all that nonsense about Britain out of the way, let me just say that I have never seen the original series. Some people may believe one needs to see the original before being able to judge the remake, but I find that virgin eyes are an important perspective; why should every reviewer be familiar with the original when so many viewers are not? If you can give me a legitimately understandable reason, I would love to hear it, though technically I'd be reading it.

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Review: DeathSpank (XBLA)

DeathSpank was a ridiculously ridiculous experience. That's right, it was so ridiculous, I had to say it twice. I don't feel like I actually enjoyed playing DeathSpank, but I also couldn't stop playing it and finished everything (yes, everything) in just a few days. What does this mean? Am I incapable of feeling anymore? Have I become a broken man, who is no longer capable of love; doomed to walk the earth alone forever, and ever, and ever? Well, my friends, come on this journey of a review and we can find out together. I will also try to be a tad less dramatic.

It really is a weird feeling to not know if I kept playing a game because I enjoyed it, or because I tend to be slightly OCD when it comes to action-RPGs. It would seem that the latter is the better choice since I can't come to a conclusion, but at the same time I loved a lot of this game. DeathSpank is absolutely beautiful and features fantastic writing. At the same time, I found the voice acting mostly obnoxious and annoying, and the combat was repetitive.

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Review: Mass Effect 2 - Lair of the Shadow Broker (X360)

Lair of the Shadow Broker is the latest piece of DLC for Mass Effect 2 -- on the disc for PS3 owners -- and, probably due to all the extra time, Shadow Broker is far and away the best DLC for Mass Effect 2. There lies a major fault in all of this -- something that is surely subjective -- and the fault is that I believe Mass Effect 2 is an incomplete experience without Shadow Broker.

Would I have said this before playing Shadow Broker? No. But, I had no details to go on and the lack of story with a specific character [Liara] was not as big of a deal. After playing said DLC, I do not why/how they chose to leave this storyline out of the retail game. You can say it is an attempt to make a little extra cash off a fantastic game, but I have a hard time believing that. I would simply guess that the storyline/content wasn't complete and it wouldn't be viable to delay the game just for a few extra hours of contend. I will say this: I would rather have Shadow Broker and only Shadow Broker as the freebie of the Cerberus Network than everything else included. Now, onto the actual review.

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Review: Perfect Couples (TV) - Pilot

Quick tip: I added "Far from." ...I know, I'm pretty damn hilarious.

As you can see from the header, Perfect Couples is far from a perfect show. As you can also see, I used the most obvious and unfunny joke I could, which happens to be quite fitting. Perfect Couples is the worst show I have seen this year, but that isn't saying much since it is still only January. So, why does Perfect Couples fail at being acceptable? ...You thought I was going to say 'perfect' didn't you.

Perfect Couples focuses on three different couples; three couples who are all longtime friends. You have your crazies: a couple who hates each other one second and then sexes it up the next; your by-the-book: a couple who lives out of relationship books; and your relatively normal couple. I don't have an issue with the clichés -- how many shows don't shower in cliché? My issue lies with the majority of portrayals and some of the acting, which leads to a public service announcement: Please stop using Olivia Munn in anything.

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Review: Raskulls (XBLA)

Raskulls is the second game in the Games for the Holidays promotion and seems to be garnering the least press. Raskulls was developed by Halfbrick Studios, the studio behind hit games like Fruit Ninja and Monster Dash. Their games are usually filled with plenty of charm -- Raskulls is no exception -- but is Raskulls also filled with a tasty strawberry filling? No. It's a game, not a doughnut.

I didn't love Raskulls and I didn't hate it; I am completely indifferent about my entire time with the game. There is fun to be found, but that fun is accompanied by a feeling of repetition. I use the word 'feeling' because the game does switch things up quite a bit, but I never felt like I was actually doing something different.

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Review: A World of Keflings (XBLA)

An all new Ice Kingdom is rather nice. See what I did there... with the rhyming and ship. (Keeping it PG)

A World of Keflings is the newest game from NinjaBee, the studio that brought us Outpost Kaloki X, Cloning Clyde, Band of Bugs, and of course, A Kingdom for Keflings. If you can't already tell, A World of Keflings is the sequel to A Kingdom for Keflings and now I will state the obvious: If you enjoyed Kingdom, you are going to enjoy World.

World is essentially the same game as Kingdom, but now you get two new worlds -- an Ice Kingdom and a Desert Kingdom -- in addition to the Forest Kingdom and new features, like more emotes than you could ever need. There isn't any drastic change to the formula, so your opinion of Kingdom will help you determine if you want to purchase World more than anything.

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Get 400MS points... by spending over 53 million dollars

Microsoft is currently running a promotion to get 400MS points free with the purchase of two qualifying XBLA titles between December 1, 2010 12:01 AM EST and December 20, 2010 11:59 PM EST. To qualify for this offer, one must download the Hot Arcade Offer Gamer Picture Pack; simple enough right?

If you answered yes, you would be dead wrong (at least at the moment). When I attempted to download the picture pack, I was met with a download that somehow cost -1MS points. I thought, "well, I guess I'll be getting a free point out of this," but I was met with an even bigger surprise. After pressing 'Confirm Download,' I received a message stating my Microsoft Points balance was too low and that the required balance was 4294967295MS points. No, that is not a misprint and yes, that is over  53 million real life dollars. Obviously this is a mistake that is going to be fixed soon and no one will ever mistakenly pay the 'Required Balance,' but it doesn't stop it from being pretty damn funny.

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Review: Super Meat Boy (XBLA)

The 'bloodiest" T-rated game you will ever play. I like the color of blood... it's also the color of sausage.

Super Meat Boy is an "F" you type of game. It will be "fun for you," or "frustrating for you." If you happen to be me, Super Meat Boy will magically "F" you twice with his meat; I found the game both fun and frustrating.

My frustration stems from one key issue: the controls. The controls are not terrible by any means; they feel good most of the time, but I do find them occasionally imprecise. I may desire to jump at a specific time, only to see Mr. Meat run right into a pool of death. This doesn't happen all the time, but in a game that is all about precision and timing; a lack of precision, at any time, is a problem.

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Review: Hydrophobia (XBLA)

There is plenty of water to be found in Hydrophobia... you won't have to worry about staying hydrated. I'm sorry.

Hydrophobia is a puzzle/action game for Xbox LIVE Arcade with a heavy emphasis on water, if that wasn't obvious from the title. Hydrophobia was never on my radar prior to actually playing it, and now I know the reason; it is not a very good game.

I had no expectations, which makes it a sad situation that Hydrophobia could not even reach my non-existent expectations. The game takes place in an underwater facility called 'The Queen of the World,' which may be a terribly unfunny call to James Cameron and Titanic, or I could simply be stretching. The story takes place over three horribly paced acts in which you play as security engineer, Kate Wilson. The first act is basically a long tutorial, the second is a bloated mess that never seems to end, and the third and final act ends sooner than expected. I won't spoil anything - not that there's much to spoil - but the ending actually made me like the game even less.

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