November 2010

Art Academy

November 3, 2010

DS / Reviews / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Continuing in their efforts to help DS owners with train their brains or learn new skills, Nintendo has now re-released Art Academy for the DS. Having previously released it as a two part DSiWare download, Nintendo apparently decided it was worth releasing to the greater DS owner population. After having fiddled around with it for awhile, I have to say that it is definitely worth a look if you are into art. 

Art Academy takes the approach of teaching you step by step the basics of how to draw and paint, from the basics of drawing circles and trees to painting full still-life images with nothing but your DS and a stylus. Along the way, you’ll learn a lot of real life lessons regarding drawing and painting techniques and composition. Even if you’re already a fair hand at drawing or painting, you may learn a little something from these very thorough lessons.

I’ve never been what you would call a good artist…heck, I can barely draw stick figures. Despite that, I learned more from this title than I ever did in art classes in school. My pictures still suck, but they suck correctly now. 

The top of the touch screen is basically your tool tray. Every pencil, paintbrush, eraser, you’ll need for the techniques you’ll learn will be there. Even a magnifying glass for adding finer detail to your drawings will be there. You are given three different pencils and six different brushes, and how you rub the screen changes how each of them are used. Faster and quicker movement lends itself to a different style than slower more precise movement, as it should. Additionally, you are given a palette of 10 colors that can be mixed with each other to create more colors however you see fit.

If you have a DSi, there’s no point in buying this. You can get it for cheaper via the DSi Shop. However, if you have an older DS model and you enjoy art, this is definitely a worthwhile pickup- if only for the real techniques and composition lessons you’ll receive.

Pros: Real life techniques; Some art history lessons sprinkled throughout; Different strokes are actually different in the game; Taught me how to make better stick figures

Cons: More expensive than the DSiWare version

 

EA Sports MMA

November 3, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

With a slightly different take on the sport than THQ’s UFC 2010, EA Sports MMA aims to impress, and it does, for the most part.

MMA uses controls reminiscent of the control scheme used by the Fight Night series- the right stick controls the strength and direction of your strikes- with kicks, submissions and pins added. For players of the Fight Night games, the control scheme will feel very intuitive, though others may take a little while to get used to it. Overall, it is very responsive while allowing for a reasonable amount of error in the movements required for each strike. 

There are 9 different fighting styles you can choose from, each with 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses. From Boxing and Wrestling to Judo and Samba, the variety of different ways to fight and win a match lends itself well to a lot of strategy and thinking during fights, especially against human opponents.

MMA is a bit short on playing modes, as the only real ways to play are the Career mode and local or online multiplayer. To make up for the relative lack of modes, EA made sure that the Career mode was fairly lengthy and satisfying. You’ll take a customized fighter into the cage and try to work your way from being a newcomer to being the ultimate MMA champion. Between fights, you’ll spend 8 weeks training, which is how you improve your skills in each area of fighting- Stand-up, Clinch, and Ground. By executing moves correctly and quickly, you’ll improve your stats faster, while eventually you’ll earn the right to pay to visit exclusive gyms that will help you learn special moves you can use for added punishment in the ring. Unfortunately, the AI is disappointing at the default difficulty. You’ll likely win most of your early fights easily and unsatisfyingly, though you can turn up the difficulty to make it more of a challenge.

The online portion of MMA is very robust. In addition to the standard ladder and ranked matches, EA added the ability to set up tournaments of all sizes. Additionally, special EA-sponsored tournaments are regularly help in which the championship bouts are broadcast on the official EA Sports MMA website, with commenting done by real MMA experts. Whether you are participating in it or just watching it, this feature adds a lot of entertainment to the multiplayer.

The graphics aren’t great, but the details are all there in replicating the look and feel of a real MMA event. From the announcing of the fighters to the cheering of the crowd, it sounds and looks like a real event. 

This game doesn’t supplant UFC 2010 as the top MMA game out right now, but it is different enough that it can be enjoyed for itself by fans of the sport. It’s a great start for a new sports franchise, but it’s just that: a start.

Pros: Presentation feels like the real deal; Career mode is satisfying and lengthy; Broadcasted tournaments are fun to play in and watch

Cons: Controls can take getting used to; AI is easy to beat

Aqua Panic!

November 2, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

PS3 is a gold mine for puzzle games. Between Elefunk, Trash Panic, and Critter Crunch it takes a lot for another puzzler to hold my attention. Aqua Panic has managed to hold my attention, though, with its unique premise, charming aesthetic, and gradual difficulty curve that starts you off nice and slow but before you know it you’ll be doing twelve things at once and thinking nothing of it. 

Aqua Panic is a bit like underwater Lemmings. Your goal is to move all of the various sea creatures from the level entrance to the level exit without allowing them to be eaten or fall off of the playing field. You’ve got lots of tools at your disposal, and (just like Lemmings) it is nice to know that you do indeed have all the requisite tools to complete any given level. Things start off slowly with obstacles that only require one type of tool – the bomb. You’ll move the cursor with the right stick, cycle through tools (when you have more than one to work with) with the shoulder buttons, and control when a tool is used with the X button. It’s all simple to grasp, and the controls never get in the way of the puzzle-solving.

As levels get more complicated and your arsenal of tools grows you’ll come to appreciate Aqua Panic’s greatest feature: the level doesn’t start until you tell it to, and that leaves you open to survey the obstacles, consider your tools, and plan your strategy before cute little seahorses start falling to their cute little deaths. Once the level begins and all the creatures are moving nicely toward the exit the triangle button speeds up the action. Although not strictly necessary, the speed-up function is great for long levels where you’ve come to the solution but just need to save more creatures to move on.

Level design, tool availability, and cleverness of the solution all ramp up nicely. After you’ve mastered the bomb you’ll be introduced to the plant which can change the water’s flow, snail taps that let water and creatures pass intermittently, pits for creatures to fall in, and eggs that block your path. Every obstacle can be worked around, but if any given level proves to be too frustrating you can play a joker – of which you have a limited supply – to bypass the level, move on, and keep having fun.

If Aqua Panic has a flaw, and it does, it is that once a level begins the action can become too hectic too quickly. Creatures start falling from the top of the level at an alarming rate leaving the player with very little time to set up tools and carve out a safe path from start to end. As you start trying to save all 100 creatures in a given level this becomes even more frustrating as you’re fighting less with the level design and more with the game design to accomplish your goal. Nitpick aside, Aqua Panic is a fun puzzle game with a cheery look (which is quite welcome in our gaming landscape of browns and grays), and plenty of challenging levels to work though. If you like puzzle games then you’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of Aqua Panic.

Pros: Gradual learning curve, lots of levels

Cons: Creatures being to fall to quickly after level-start

 

Gaming with Children: What parents need

November 2, 2010

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

A year ago, my play sessions usually ended with me looking at the clock, realizing that 3 a.m. is too close to 5 a.m. to keep playing and stumbling to bed.

Now they end with one of my children crying, spitting up, needing to be fed, needing a diaper change, needing play time, needing a bink replaced (they can’t really hang on to stuff yet), or a combination of the above. There is no “in a minute,” “let me find a save point,” or ignoring what is going on around me. Kids need something, game has to end post haste. I have a lot of time to think while doing baby stuff – especially when I’m trying to stay quiet because I managed to cease the crying before my wife wakes up – and naturally my mind drifts to video games. Here’s what I’ve decided all games absolutely must have going forward. I won’t rule a game out for missing one, but it’d be great if more developers realized that we can’t all play for four hours at a time and wait 20 minutes until the next time the game auto-saves.

Content filtering: At the menu screen of any game I should be able to turn certain effects off – blood, gore, and foul language should be user selectable. Nintendo forced the issue with Mortal Kombat in the 90s, and today I’d like the ability to toggle between “blood” and “sweat.” And in an otherwise appropriate game it’d be nice to replace any swearing with a broadcast radio bleep out noise.

Save anywhere: I don’t need quick save, but at any point while playing a game (aside from in multiplayer) I should be able to hit start, select save, and shut off the console. If you don’t want the save system abused then make the game delete my save after I load it – I just want to be able to play, save, and not lose my progress when something more important demands my attention.

Pause anywhere: Similar to wanting to save anywhere, I want to be able to pause anywhere. This should be too hard – on all three current consoles the OS is constantly present (this is why you can return to the menu at any time). Every time I hit the 360 button, the PS button, or the Home button on the Wii the system menu should suspend the current game. This would allow parents to wipe up drool, change a diaper, or replace a lost bink without missing the narrative scene being played. It’d also be great for everybody else out there who answers the phone when it rings. 

Theater mode: It is inevitable that I will miss a cutscene. I will forget to pause, or your game doesn’t offer it, or the cat will hit unpause for me while I’m in the other room taking care of things. After I have used the handy “save anywhere” feature and exited to the menu let me rewatch that scene by selecting it from the video menu. You made those films and are proud of them, I want to watch them, and all you need to do to make that happen is add a menu pick.

I’m going to miss things, my kill/death ratio in Halo: Reach is going to be terrible some matches, and my kids are always going to be more important than running to save point. Your audience has quite a few parents in it now, and technology has advanced to the point that player convenience can be built into consoles and games. If more games took advantage of these things then those of us who play games and take care of kids would have more fun and probably spend more money on your games in the future.

NBA Elite 11 cancelled

November 2, 2010

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

EA has announced that rather than keep NBA Elite 11 on an indefinite delay, they’ve decided to outright cancel it. This means that, for this year at least, 2K has an undivided audience for NBA 2K11. READ MORE

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