Gamesugar

November 30, 2010

Review – Auditorium HD

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 8:55 am


Having grown out of a flash game, Auditorium has perhaps hit the big time with this high-definition console release, and it’s not difficult to see why. A curious puzzling experience that’s as interesting to listen to and look at as it is to play, Auditorium HD brings an entirely unique sensory experience to players.

The objective is simple: move the colored light into the appropriately colored receptacle. The path (and later, color) of the light can be changed through the use of a number of spherical pieces afforded to the player in each stage. By changing the position and size of these spheres, the light can be directed to fill the appropriate receptacles, completing the stage and unlocking further stages. Auditorium supports the PlayStation Move controller, but I reviewed with the standard controller.

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November 22, 2010

Your PlayStation Network Sale

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 12:52 pm

Sony Sale
Beginning tomorrow Sony is knocking down prices on 2010 digital games for PSP, PS3, and their Minis lineup by 50%, news that warrants plenty of your attention if you haven’t caught up with releases like Joe Danger or Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker – also known as one of my favorite PSP games to date.

The sale runs from November 23 until November 29, and you can catch the full list of deals after the break.

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November 18, 2010

Review – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 8:22 pm

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
I’m riding on the back of a long-dead dragon, the size of a skyscraper, animated through dark necromancy and thundering through the sky. I’m clawing my way up the massive spine, balancing precariously when it rears its head and tries to shake me loose. I slip, and pull the right trigger just in time to jam my ridiculous crucifix-weapon into the bone and save myself from the fall—and this is about the time when it hits me just how much I like this game.

This is the last of three titanic boss encounters in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow; battles that have seen me scaling massive creatures in elaborate platforming puzzles. Like many elements of this game, this may draw comparisons to the defining hack-and-slasher, God of War, and these aren’t unwarranted. Castlevania, when considered piece by piece, is a wholly derivative affair, but as happens so rarely, it manages to provide a unique and worthy experience all the same.

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November 15, 2010

Your Recommended Dose of Import Nostalgia

PSN Imports
MonkeyPaw Games grants two flashback import wishes on PlayStation Network this week, with Money Idol Exchanger and Sonic Wings Special, both of which release tomorrow for $5.99 a piece – under the Import tab in the PSone Classic section.

This seemed significant for two reasons –

1 – Money Idol Exchanger’s economic puzzle challenge stands out in my mind most because someone gave me hell for not mentioning it when reviewing Critter Crunch last year.
2 – Sonic Wings deserves a mention entirely because one can never have too many military based 2D shooters – it’s a fact.

Catch some hurriedly grabbed YouTube footage after the break.

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November 8, 2010

Q&A – Konami Talks No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise

No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise
No More Heroes led a series of unique and alternative experiences offered by the Wii when it released in 2008. The story of Travis Touchdown’s quest to survive the streets of Santa Destroy in order to rise to the top of the United Assassins Association, if only to get the girl, represented a wave of punk sensibility rarely seen in the industry and also exclusive to Nintendo’s console.

Marvelous Entertainment broadened the chance for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners to share in the bloodletting with the Japanese release of Heroes’ Paradise this year, and many of us have patiently waited to learn which publisher might plan to bring that HD love our way.

Recently it was revealed that Konami would answer the call, announcing a Move supported PlayStation 3 version. Not unlike starving dogs, we hungered for more details.

Luckily for us, both Marvelous and Konami production team’s Tak Fuji have merged forces not only to bring Heroes’ Paradise to North America, but also to answer our most pressing questions – as well as leaving us all with one I know many of you will offer answers to.

Get your Heroes’ Paradise fix after the break.

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November 5, 2010

Review – Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage​

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 6:53 pm

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage​
In many ways the Eighties were a simpler time, when a man could wander the post nuclear apocalyptic landscape secure in the knowledge that the good glowed with blue auras while the sinister shined red, and acupressure specific fist attacks created a reality where if someone screamed “WATTA!” after hitting you, well, you were probably already dead. At least that’s what Fist of the North Star taught me, my first taste coming via the anime that joined Akira and Fighting Seizure Robots in painting my earliest imaginings of what an incredibly cool place Japan must be.

While many years of studious effort to understand the culture that produced such offerings since then has yielded successful addictions, there are still many things about Japan I fail to understand.

Koei is one of those things, a company that I am aware makes videogames every year, but which I have never had much luck in grasping the sensibilities of. In many ways, Fist of the North Star strikes me as an attempt to rectify that situation, applying the Dynasty Warrior trope to a manga series rather than whatever a Dynasty Warriors game is typically about.

It all seems to revolve around the Japanese word “Musou,” which gets poorly translated here as something akin to “The Only One,” or “Without Equal.” My understanding of Koei’s use of the term is a series of games where waves upon waves of enemies come to kick your ass and in turn have their own kicked.

Given the subject matter of Fist of the North Star and Kenshiro’s lonely quest across the wasteland, this all seems like a workable arrangement. And the results are not entirely unsuccessful given the amount of fun I’ve gotten from the release, but there are limits and obligatory missteps, nagging bits of bad-habit design lingering from the past like phantoms in the code; stubborn, unbending, unchanging code.

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November 4, 2010

Return of the Review – Vanquish

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 5:15 pm

Vanquish
In my capacity as a Sugarperson, I really only serve two functions: sometimes I manufacture prettiness in an effort to make it appear that the site was not, in fact, designed in my basement, and other times I play games, and then I tell you about them. This is one of those times. As tasks go, it is not the worst one could hope for. In fact, the only way it could be better is if it caused the numbers on my bank account to increase, or perhaps if writing overly long sentences made me irresistible to nerd girls.

Vanquish is a game that, upon playing, I was compelled to fulfill this second duty; to write words and deliver them to you, so that you might understand their meaning. Accordingly, in addition to our regular review of Vanquish, I am here to provide a rare second opinion. Let’s begin: if anyone tells you that Vanquish is not worth playing, your duty is clear. Cut this person out of your life forever, as this person is a liar who wishes only misfortune upon you. If, after taking this action, you still doubt the value of Vanquish, I suggest the following: visit youtube, and search for “Casshern.” When you come to the inevitable realization that “There should be a videogame of this,” return here, and I will present to you, Vanquish.

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