October 2010

Interview: Sabarasa talks Lucha Libre

October 5, 2010

News / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The upcoming Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring does a lot of things we haven’t seen in the gaming industry with a sport we haven’t really gotten to play. We got Sabarasa, the developer of the game’s Wii version, to answer some of our questions about the title.

SBG: The game offers the chance to participate in “mask vs. hair” matches online against other players. Will the consequences of losing the match be reflected in the character models? Will this match type be available offline for local multiplayer and/or the campaign mode?

The Hair vs. Mask wager is one of the big highlights in the game. But to make things clear, what makes Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring’s Hair vs. Mask wager so interesting is that the stakes are very high. Following the sport’s rich tradition, players will wager their created mask or hair online against an opponent. Winner takes all. Loser will have his mask ripped from his head or his head shaved. If that happens to you, you must win three ranked matches in a row in order to receive the ability to create a new mask. You can create the exact same match or an entirely new one, but you can never get your original back from the person who beat you.   To lose your mask, in the game and in real life, is like losing your pride. A real luchador who has his mask ripped off loses his career. He must wait seven years before he can compete again at that character. Usually it signals the end of a career. The mode is a multiplayer online mode and can be found in the story mode as well.

SBG: What other kind of modes/match types are available both online and offline? What’s the upper limit for how many wrestlers can be in or around the ring at the same time?

There are ranked and unranked matches, with up to 4 luchadores online. You can customize the rules and create the match the way you want. The most in a ring at any one time is four luchadores which we call Fatal Four Way. That is one of three multiplayer modes offered. The other two are Hair vs. Mask and Triple Theat. We also offer quick matches and story mode. Actually, I will side bar from here to talk a little about the story mode. READ MORE

Gaming with Children: Press Start

October 5, 2010

Features / Gaming with Children / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

I’m gaming with children. Well, not literally… yet. I am the recent father of four (yes, four) children. It should surprise nobody that this has changed my gaming habits. A few months ago I completed Mass Effect 2 and all of the then-currently available DLC in about two weeks. Since the kids came home a month ago I have played a few stages of Plants vs. Zombies and scheduled two “play dates” with my best friend to get our butts kicked by adolescents at Halo: Reach.

Having less time for games isn’t the only effect having kids has had on me. I’ve started thinking about whether I want my kids to be as into video games as I am, and if they are when do I let them start playing? What games do I choose? How often and for how long is healthy? All of these are questions that I never had to ask myself, but it is clear that I need to find an answer to them.

What is today’s Super Mario Bros. 3? SMB3 sits on a high pedestal for me. I loved it as a kid, I love it now, and it’s the first Mario game I ever beat. Either games are harder now than they used to be or I’m getting worse at them as I get older. I’m not sure that six year old me could complete New Super Mario Bros. on Wii regardless of how long I was allowed to play it. It took a herculean effort for my wife and I to complete NSMBWii, and we had the benefit of a co-op buddy to help us out. Looking through my collection I don’t see a whole lot for the budding gamer. Sure, I have some “kiddie” games, but even they seem too difficult. Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper, while age-appropriate for a young child thematically, are pretty darn complicated. In order to play you need to go through the tutorial and figure out what button does what. Gone are the days where you move with the cross, jump with A, and throw fire with B.

Are kids destined to start on handhelds? Should I just dust off my old NES and Genesis so that they can start with simple Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog? And more importantly, what kind of example will I set for them when they eventually wake up in the middle of the night, wander downstairs to ask for a glass of water, and see me shooting wave after wave of dudes in the face in Uncharted 2?

I’ve still got a few years before these issues come to fruition, but in the meantime I need to come to grips with my reduced gaming schedule. This week alone I have spent $14 on DLC. While this is better than spending $60 on a new game, I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to go back to Mass Effect 2 to play through Lair of the Shadow Broker and try out the new weapons I bought. 

I certainly have a newfound respect for the folks at the ESRB and a new perspective on games like Grand Theft Auto, Reach and Heavy Rain. What would I do if my child saw me getting extra life in GTA? Or assassinating an enemy in Reach? Or playing Madison’s first segment in Heavy Rain? All three would prompt discussions, certainly, but is a video game the right catalyst for those discussions? I’ve got to be careful from here on out – whether something is fun is no longer my only consideration when browsing the racks at GameStop.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete releasing this month

October 5, 2010

News / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

More than two years after its initial release, Grand Theft Auto IV is being re-released on October 26th, 2010. Called Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete, it packages the original game with both of its expansions-The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. READ MORE

Samurai Warriors 3

October 5, 2010

Reviews / Wii / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

There have been a ton of Warriors games, and if you’ve played one then you have a great idea of what to expect here. Tons of characters, a short campaign, and local coop that is just as tired as the single-player are the name of the game here. If you’re in love with the various Warriors games then Samurai Warriors 3 won’t disappoint you, but if the last time you played Warriors was Dynasty Warriors 4 on the PS2 and you thought “this is all right, but I don’t need 12 more” then you should steer clear of Samurai Warriors 3.

Samurai Warriors 3 features two narrative modes. It doesn’t matter which one you pick as they play exactly the same and your experience carries across all game modes. Regardless of what you choose you’ll be mashing on two buttons to kill low-res nameless goons and occasionally square off against a named officer. What Samurai Warriors 3 does right, however, is character customization and leveling. As you play you will find weapons on the battlefield. Before each new mission you will be allowed to select the weapon you take into battle and upgrade your equipment at the blacksmith. If the combat weren’t so derivative these upgrades and choices would matter, but Koei is taking steps in the right direction.

Samurai Warriors 3’s missteps are many. First and foremost is the lackluster combat. If you’re going to develop an action title with tons of enemies then the combat needs to be entertaining. Story can continue to be nonsensical, but I’ve got to be having fun battling throngs of enemies. Dead Rising 2 pulled this off exceptionally well. I don’t rightly care why I’m running around not-Vegas killing zombies – I care that it is tremendously fun to do so with two chainsaw duct taped to a kayak paddle. Samurai Warriors never really delivers on the fun that it so desperately needs.

Samurai Warriors 3 features multiple control schemes (something I wish more Wii games did – especially those that do not make use of motion controls). You can slaughter the masses with the Wii remote and nunchuck, the Classic Controller, or the GameCube pad. All options are on equal footing as all you need is an analog stick and two attack buttons, but it is nice to have the choice of picking up my old Wavebird. Samurai Warriors also supports online play. For those folks out there that want to team up with a friend and take over Japan during the Warring States period this seems like a great addition. Unfortunately the Wii Speak peripheral is not supported so your ally had may as well be controlled by the game’s AI. In a game like Mario Kart I don’t mind multiplayer silence, but in cooperative play it makes sense to talk throughout the game, and it baffles me that Nintendo’s official online-enabled chat device is not supported here.

Samurai Warriors 3 is a current-gen game in visuals only. Player character models are nice, environments are detailed, and flashy combat effects are great. Sadly, the remainder of the package is stuck in the PS2 era. Sound effects are tinny, combat is shallow, and the online offering is barebones enough that the whole package would feel more complete without it. If you’re already a fan of the Warriors franchise then Samurai Warriors won’t disappoint. Everybody else, though, has already played this game and likely has neither the need nor the desire to go back to it.

Pros: Multiple control schemes, light RPG leveling and weapon upgrading

Cons: lackluster online, shallow combat, carbon copy of previous games in the series

 

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

October 4, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Taking the formula found in previous Spider-Man games into an entirely different direction, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is probably the most intriguing game in the web slinger’s series of games so far. A lot of the latest games involving him have featured a very prominent sandbox formula and plenty of side quests, but developer Beenox has decided to try something new. It doesn’t work all of the time, but when it does, it’s great stuff.

As expected, the story of Shattered Dimensions is not a compelling one. It follows the original Amazing Spider-Man as he is trying to stop the villain Mysterio from stealing an ancient tablet full of mysterious powers. The tablet gets shattered and somehow spread across multiple dimensions, with each one featuring its own version of Spider-Man. Soon enough, you find yourself playing as four different Spider-Men as you face a cavalcade of villains from the superhero’s past. 

The game has a unique style to it, with each of the four dimensions looking slightly different. It’s a good looking game, although there are some problems in the sound department. The voice acting itself is fine, but you often hear many of the same lines from both the different Spider-Men and from the villains you face repeated ad nauseum. It can get very old very fast. Aside from that, the presentation is great.

The overall structure of the game involves you selecting from one of four levels, each from one of the different Spider-Men and each one featuring a different villain. The four dimensions are: Amazing Spider-Man, Noir Spider-Man, 2099 Spider-Man, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Each would appear very different, but it isn’t long before you realize that they all are fairly similar in structure despite some differences.

The combat for all for is generally the same, with a few specific moves and abilities that are unique to each Spider-Man. Ultimate Spider-Man can enter rage mode, 2099 Spider-Man can slow down time, etc. The controls are solid for combat and for web swinging, and the combat is fast paced and enjoyable. The camera can be pretty problematic during certain sections, but it is much better than expected.

Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man are the two that are the closest in terms of general structure. They both play generally the same, despite a few small differences, and they are pretty solid overall. There are a few annoying quirks in each, but both feature strong gameplay and fun boss fights (for the most part). 

2099 Spider-Man is where the game falls apart. The combat is the same, aside from the time slowing ability (which is generally pointless and never worth using), but the structure of these levels is poor. None of the levels are fun, the bosses are always a pain to fight, and the free falling sections are awfully executed. This is where the game’s biggest flaws are exposed and they could have done better without this dimension at all. It looks cool, but it plays poorly.

On the other hand, the game truly shines during the Noir Spider-Man levels. These levels are unique because they focus heavily on stealth gameplay. And this is good stealth gameplay I’m talking about, with levels that are reminiscent of last year’s excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum. Sure, they offer less freedom, but they prove that Spider-Man and stealth is an excellent combination. These levels also feature the best boss battles, each one better than the last. 

Speaking of boss battles, they are generally good in three of the four dimensions. You do end up fighting the bosses two (or sometimes three) times during the course of a level, but they never overstay their welcome. Aside from the 2099 bosses, each boss is pretty unique and usually the highlight of the game. There is one small drawback though: some bosses feature a first person fighting section in which you use the two analog sticks to control your punches. It feels poorly implemented and just plain pointless. It never offers any challenge or reward, and these sections could have been taken out of the game entirely.

As a whole, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a pretty fun game, but it really could have used some major improvements. 1/4th of the experience is tampered down by poor mechanics and terrible level design, so that alone really brings the entire game from “great” to “pretty decent.” This is a fun rental if you’re a huge Spider-Man fan, but everyone else should just pick up 2008’s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows instead for a much more enjoyable experience. 

Final thoughts? Noir Spider-Man needs his own game. 

Pros: Noir Spider-Man levels are amazing; solid controls and fighting mechanics; some really fun boss battles; plenty of ways to upgrade the different Spider-Man

Cons: Problematic camera; 2099 Spider-Man levels are underwhelming at best, convoluted at worst; first person fights are lame; voice clips tend to repeat way too often

 

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