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March 22, 2011

Review – Battle: LA

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 7:35 am

Battle: LA
When I saw Battlefield: Los Angeles in theaters, I walked away with the distinct impression that the film could have easily been a Call of Duty game, with many of its events and scenarios seemingly lifted right out of that series. Indeed, Saber Interactive seems to recognize this, with their downloadable adaptation more than a little reminiscent of Call of Duty, but stale, unsatisfying design undercuts the experience from the very beginning.

The game takes a number of the plot elements and scenarios directly from the film and tells a rough approximation of the same story. The plot of Battle: LA unfolds in a selection of miserable, tone-dead motion comics. Lacking a single drop of atmosphere or attitude, these looks like pages from a children’s book more than art from a hardened shooter. Half-baked animations are awkward and often silly, dialogue is poorly scripted, and most damningly, the voice acting is terribly flat and either poorly recorded or poorly mixed.

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February 24, 2011

Review – Gemini Rue

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 12:54 pm

Review Gemini Rue
Prior to technology enabling us to connect with the world while ignoring everything immediately around us, the blinking lights of evolving machinery offered means for introspection – specifically a fresh perspective on a very old worry keeping us up late into a long night called existence.

Theoretical speculation on ideas of artificial intelligence and memory constructs allowed us the chance to chew on the question of human identity with fresh vigor, externalizing that oldest of mysteries to question who we are as individual grains caught up in the dust-storm of civilization.

Pro-tip – if you tend to worry about your identity while feeling that society marches around in circles with no particular direction in mind, you’re probably a replicant.

However, since Gemini Rue isn’t about a tortoise laying on its back in need of your help while its belly bakes in the hot sun, we should probably move along.

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February 4, 2011

Review – Dead Space 2

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 3:38 pm

Dead Space 2
Sometimes the front page is swallowed up by an array of posts about Japanese videogames, and that’s how you, the reader, can know that I will appear and offer relief by instead discussing a game that involves science, shooting, and outer space. Thus, we will now discuss Dead Space 2.

Visceral Games’ sequel opens three years after the end of Dead Space; Isaac Clarke is confined to a mental institution where the necromorphs have mysteriously returned. The opening sequence here is meticulously designed both as tutorial and introduction; Isaac is left to stumble through the halls, bound in a straight-jacket, frantically evading monsters and trying to get to safety. The sequence introduces the player to each of the Dead Space conventions as Isaac scavenges his key tools from machinery throughout the hospital, including a new plasma cutter cobbled together from a flashlight and surgical laser.

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January 11, 2011

Gemini Rue

Gemini Rue
Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Blade Runner, Snatcher, and plenty more combination’s of slipstream jazz came to mind while watching a trailer for Gemini Rue earlier today.

This decidedly old-school adventure game has players assuming the role of two characters – specifically an ex-assassin and an amnesiac brought together within a bleak world controlled by the Boryokudan crime syndicate. Slipping into the sci-fi noir realm grabs my attention most any day, and the visual throwback here definitely helps keep it.

Previously known as Boryokudan Rue, the winner of last year’s Independent Game Festival Student Showcase is getting a PC release on February 24th via Wadjet Eye Games, and today became available for pre-order with both a download and disc version.

The digital copy is running $14.99, while the limited edition CD version runs $24.99 and includes an MP3 soundtrack.

Anyway, catch the trailer and see if it sweeps your fancy today as well – and if you like what you see remember to pay Wadjet Eye Games a visit to find out more.

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January 7, 2011

Kentucky Route Zero

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , — Michael Tucker @ 7:02 pm

Kentucky Route Zero
I’m fascinated with the game glimpsed at in the trailer for Kentucky Route Zero. A wonderful tone is set for a fantastic looking adventure game with its slow bluegrass and presentation of quiet, mysterious scenes. I can’t wait to try the game when it’s released, but right now the devs are looking to the community for the funding to get this project off the ground.

If you have an interest in magical realism, or games that appeal to your literary sensibilities, or just like funding indie devs with creative ideas, then you can support this title via a donation through Kickstarter. A thorough description of the game as well as some awesome supporter rewards can be checked out there as well.

Check out the trailer for Kentucky Route Zero after the break.

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December 24, 2010

Review – Back to the Future: The Game Episode 1 – It’s About Time

Back to the Future The Game Episode 1 Its about time
Telltale Games picks up the ball where the DeLorean fueled film trilogy ended years ago, bringing a Hollywood franchise into their niche playground of point and click adventure. If you’ve “been there and done that” with Telltale’s many releases to date, Back to the Future is certainly a curve ball. Significant expectations ride on the release of this first episode given a legacy of lackluster conversions of films to the gaming medium, predating Back to the Future’s own awkward release to the NES – back during an era where every film franchise was fair game for pixelated exploitation.

Gains have been made in creating richer gaming spaces from such properties, but plenty is still wanting from the bigger development studios typically in control – so double up those expectations yet again on a smaller studio such as Telltale.

But let me spread the good news that the game immediately exhibits the touch of hands belonging to fans, who, fortunately for us, also know how to stitch a game together. From the outset the release offers gamers a lift back to the world of the films, where Doc launches into an apocalyptic spiel about the fabric of space and time at the drop of a hat, and Biff remains the biggest jerk this side of any time period.

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December 18, 2010

Nanosuits, etc.

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 3:50 pm

Crysis 2
Important warning: if you’re concerned about the welfare of your face, stop now and go do something else. If you feel you may need your face for later, leave your computer and do not return. Gamesugar accepts no responsibility for the possibility that your face may be blown off by the force of the following trailer for Crysis 2.

If there was any doubt that an urban sprawl would offer infinitely more intriguing options for the wielder of the nanosuit than the original jungle, it’s been washed away in a flood of images depicting the player kicking cars, hurling aliens off ledges and bounding across rooftops at super speed. Crysis 2 appears to be shaping up into a defining FPS experience, and if you dare risk the safety of your own face, you can check out the most recent trailer after the break.

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