Viking: Battle for Asgard
Developer: Creative Assembly
Publisher: SEGA
Price: $59.99
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Category: Action/Adventure
ESRB: “M” for Mature
Release Date: March 25, 2008

I have always been enthralled with Nordic legends, and anything Viking related. Far be it to call myself a Nordiphile, I am hardly that – I just like mythology of all sorts. I have also thought that Vikings were too often ignored in video games, and I have never understood why they have been largely shunned by the industry, This is why I was so excited about Beowulf until it was announced that it would be a movie tie-in – and in my opinion, both sucked equally.

When Viking: Battle for Asgard was announced a few moths after Beowulf, my love of Nordic mythology took a back seat to the wariness in my brain. I decided it would be rented instead of purchased and while the waiting list for the game was long at my local Blockbuster – I am glad I waited. Whether Viking: Battle for Asgard was worth the wait or not is open to interpretation. On the one hand, I liked the visuals and some of the executions you could pull off, but the game had so many things wrong with it. It was repetitive, contained shallow swordplay, choppy framerates galore and so many other things wrong with it that by the time I was a quarter of the way finished with the game, I wanted my rental fee back. Of course, Blockbuster does not give refunds for unsatisfactory rental purchases.

In Viking: Battle for Asgard, you are Skarin – a warrior on the edge of death who is brought back from the brink by the Goddess Freya. In exchange for this life saving turn of events, you must do her bidding – and no, there are no sexual undertones to this despite the fact that she is a hottie. Her desire for you is only for you to prevent Hel, the Goddess of the Underworld from taking over Midgard. The plotline gives you the impression that the game would be full of hack and slash potential, and that is indeed true. The game was oozing with potential, and when playing I kept waiting for the goods to come to fruition but, alas, they never surfaced – probably because none were present to being with.

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This past weekend, I headed out to the New York Comic Con to see all of that latest and greatest in the Comic Book community. To my surprise, Komani was there showing off Metal Gear Online. Not only did I have to play it, but I made sure I got footage of myself completely sucking at… er.. I mean pwning the enemy! We all know that folks who play video games for a living must be good at all of them…right?!

I must say that I was completely surprised at how well the game handled. It stayed true to how Metal Gear Solid feels, while finally adding a multiplayer component to it. The game was setup as a local 4v4 LAN match. As you’ll see in the video above, this was the first time I ever played MGO, so I didn’t quite have a grasp on what the controls were yet. I did like how you can change weapons or accessories by simply press the R2/L2 buttons instead of having to hold it down in order to select what you want to use (even though I can’t recall at the moment if that was something previous Metal Gear Solid games did).

Playing Metal Gear Online was fun for the short time I got to try it out. Thanks to this hands-on impression, not only am I looking forward to MGS4, but I’ll also probably be checking out MGO whenever I have the chance.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (in April)
Category: Action
ESRB Rating: M for Mature (Blood, Strong Language, Intense Violence)
Release Date: March 21, 2008

Someone once said “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” (and an advertising firm soon trademarked it). I doubt whoever said that was talking about terrorist cells and international conspiracies, but man those seem to flock to Sin City in the new Rainbow Six Vegas 2. This being the sequel to the smash hit Tom Clancy title, expectations are understandably high for this follow-up. Even more so since the team behind this game has said this is their final excursion, because they’re tired of working with Vegas. Well frankly their apathy shows through at times, particularly since this feels like the same old Rainbow Six Vegas, just with a few changes. But still, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My full impressions after the break. Read the full article »

Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Developer: Monolith
Publisher: SEGA
Price: $59.99
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Category: Action/Adventure, Psychological Horror
ESRB: “M” for Mature
Release Date: 3/12/2008

When I first heard that the folks over at Monolith were making a sequel to Condemned: Criminal Origins, I was both excited and leery at the same time, because let’s face it, sequels are not usually up to par with the original. Granted, the God of War titles seem to do justice to our favorite Spartan, but that cannot be said of the majority of sequels sitting on shelves. My initial disquiet over another offering of Ethan Thomas and the maimed world in which he resides seemed to mitigate slightly when I viewed the first set of screenshots from the game, and the more I saw, better I felt. The trailers looked great, the weapon selection was both pacifying and hilarious at the same time, and the overall ambiance the trailers portrayed finally allowed me to let my guard down completely for Condemned 2: Bloodshot. However, before I get too far ahead of myself, I would like to point out that while this was indeed a very fun and entertaining game, it was far from perfect. So far, to be quite honest, that afterwards when I had played through it a second time, I started to feel extremely let down.

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Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Developer: SquareEnix
Publisher: SquareEnix
Price: $49.99
Platform: Wii
Category: Action/Adventure, FP/RPG
ESRB: “T” for Teen
Release Date: 2/19/2008

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors takes place in a town that lies at the foot of Avalonia Castle. There, a young man enjoys a peaceful life with his lecherous father until his sixteenth birthday approaches and he must take the Walk of the Worthy. This is a trial of strength, which all young Avalonian males must undergo upon coming of age. As the main character, you will need to put all of your training in the ways of the sword into practice if you are to pass the test, and take your rightful place amongst Avalonia’s warriors. Sounds like your typical RPG doesn’t it? Unfortunately the storyline is the only thing typical about Dragon Quest Swords.

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Lost: Via Domus
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Category: Adventure
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Violence)
Release Date: February 26, 2008

I am a complete sucker when it comes to video games based on my favorite TV shows. It’s for that reason that I’ve suffered through both The Sopranos: Road to Respect and 24: The Game. So when I heard that there was going to be a game coming out based on Lost, I already knew I would be playing it. It didn’t matter how the developers approached the title or even if it were declared unanimously to be the worst video game adaptation ever, I’d still be drawn to it like a mosquito to a bug zapper. Thankfully, this is probably the best game based on a TV show that I have ever played. Of course, that’s not saying much. Full review after the break.

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Bomberman Land
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Price: $29.99
Platform: Wii
Category: Action, Arcade
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone (Cartoon Violence)
Release Date: January 29, 2008

These days, I approach anything dealing with the “Bomberman” franchise with apprehension. As far as I’m concerned, the more recent games have been kind of “hit or miss,” and few have really stacked up to the ones from the NES days. I tend to approach collections of mini-games for the Wii in much the same manner. So basically, before I even sat down to play it, the new Wii game, Bomberman Land, already had two strikes against it. Is there anything to redeem this latest adventure involving Bomberpeople? My full impressions after the break. Read the full article »

The Club
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Publisher: Sega
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Category: Action
ESRB Rating: M for Mature (Blood, Strong Language, Violence)
Release Date: February 19, 2008

When I first heard about The Club and it’s concept of combo-fueled killing, I was actually a little refreshed. In these times where video games are seemingly under constant scrutiny by the public for their violent content, here was a game that decided to ignore all that and make the gameplay about nothing but the killing. It sounded like a great way to take the third-person shooter genre back to basics and focus on nothing but the action. Unfortunately, I soon realized just why few games these days take such a simple approach. My full impressions after the break.

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Culdcept Saga
Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: $39.99
Platform: Xbox 360
Category: Strategy
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes)
Release Date: February 5, 2008

For me, just being within earshot of the term “card battles” is enough to make me break out in a rash. That’s why I was even surprised in myself when I started to become interested in a game like Culdcept Saga. I never played its PS2 precursor, but the idea of card battles mixed with a board game intrigued me enough to try out the demo. Sadly, the demo only fueled my interest in this game, practically forcing me to seek out a copy — probably the only one within ten miles of my house, I might add. So does this game’s charm still hold up after several hours of card/board gaming action? Well, yes and no. My full impressions after the break.

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I’ve been a fan of racing games for some time now. Everything from the Gran Turismo Series to Project Gotham Racing 4 is on my shelf. I have been sticking to simulation style racing for years and was never really interested in an arcade style racing game. I was speaking with Daniel, our marketing guru and he told me that he loved the instant action he was experiencing with Burnout Paradise. I paused for a while and realized that this was the first time Daniel had said something exciting about a racing game. He normally hates racing games. I knew that I had to go ahead and check out Burnout Paradise. Over 800 miles of racing later, I am completely hooked.
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