Wii Review: Wii Sports Resort

I know that most of you remember Wii Sports and how fun it was, but there was a few problems with it, one of them being that there really were not too many activities to partake in. (more…)

The Wii and its Memory Storage

As much as I am fan of the Nintendo Wii, there is still one problem that I have with it, and that is the lack of storage space that it offers. (more…)

NC Update 7/27

Here are the latest game videos and DS demos available from the Nintendo Channel. (more…)

DSiWare Update 7/27

Here is your weekly update of games coming out for DSiWare. (more…)

Wiiware/VC Update 7/27

Here is your weekly update of game releases for Wiiware and the Virtual Console. (more…)

PC Review: Tales of Monkey Island – Launch of the Screaming Narwhal

When it comes to the wonderful world of adventure gaming, then it’s Telltale Games who clearly makes some of the best adventure games available in this genre. With the Tales of Monkey Island series available to play now, you’ll soon have a grand treasure of entertaining moments to claim as your very own.

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Lucas Arts
Genre: 3D Graphic Adventure
Price: $34.95 (Complete Series)

The first chapter of Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is available now from Telltale Games and sets the story and setting for Guybrush Threpwood, our Pirate wanna be hero. We soon learn that the Voodoo possessed Pirate LeChuck has recently captured Guybrush’s wife, the fair Lady Elaine Marley-Threpwood, and is in the act of performing a Voodoo Curse that involves a large number of Monkeys, being held captive too by LeChuck.

In the process of freeing Elaine, Guybrush changes everything for LeChuck, Elaine, himself and of course the monkeys too. Guybrush soon finds himself stranded on a strange island, filled with other Pirates and the only way for him to rescue his wife from the clutches of LeChuck is take part in a series of quests and prove his worth as a Pirate in order to learn what it will take to get off the island.

Telltale Games delievers once again with a great story to capture here, filled with some very funny moments and a wonderful cast of characters to enjoy. When it comes to the question of will I like a game or not, then its the story that means a lot to me and helps to captivate me. Tales of Monkey Island has that sort of story and intrests me a lot, as well as entertains me every step of the way. 

As an adventure game you will point and click your way around the various scenes in order to engage with the characters or interact with objects to progress the story along. I think you’ll quickly become comfortable as you start to interact with the various characters and objects with in the game here. I found myself actually using the keyboard arrows more and more to move Guybrush around and only used the mouse to click on the objects and make dialog selections between the characters.

The graphics, music, sound effects and dialog for Tales of Monkey Island were spot on for this game or interactive adventure as I’ve grown to think of this genre of games. I found that everything flowed from start to finish and once the game had concluded, I was ready for the remaining chapters to become available and wanted to learn more about what happened to these characters.

I think all fans of the Pirate genre of books and movies will be entertained with all that this crazy island has to offer here. The puzzles you have to solve can be somewhat challenging at times, but fairly easy to understand and figure out. The game also includes a nice map of the island and this helps you move from location to location after you’ve discovered most of the locations around the island.

After you’ve completed the first chapter you’re going to be dying to find out what happens next and begging for the release of the next chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island series. My only draw back in the whole experience came from my small VGA monitor and has nothing to do with the game at all; I’m also use to playing console games and my HD TV set. If you love adventure games, then pick this one up today and set sail with Guybrush… its the call of a Pirates life that awaits you and its only a click away.            (A+)

- Robert Owens

System Requirements:
Operating system: Windows XP / Vista
Processor: 2.0 GHz + (3 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent rec.)
Memory: 512MB (1GB rec.)
Sound:DirectX 8.1 sound device
Video:64MB DirectX 8.1-compliant video card (128MB rec.)
DirectX®: Version 9.0c or better

The Xbox Live Summer of Arcade has arrived

Back once again is none other than the ever popular Xbox Live Summer of Arcade event, with a huge line up of some of the must have games of the year from the Arcade. Starting out on Wednesday, July 22 and then releasing every Wednesday until August 19, comes a brand new Arcade title, debuting as part of this years Summer of Arcade lineup. 

July 22: Splosion Man™
Blowing the doors off this event comes Splosion Man, from the creators of the Maw, comes 100 levels to explode your way through and huge boss battles to win and thats for the single player alone. Next you can really blow it up with some intense four-player co-op action. This creative side scroller will have you blasting your way through level after level before you know it.

July 29: Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Next up is MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 2and the enhanced HD graphics with a super line up of 56 legendary characters from Marvel Comics and Capcom Games history. The time is now to build tha super team of all times and then head online for some multiplayer action. Fans of fighting games have been waiting for this ultimate lineup of fighters and from Marvel & Capcom, the wait is finally over now.

August 5: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Turtles in Time Re-shelled
Could we get a longer title for this game? Ninja Turtle fans prepare for a classic favorite, but in an all new 3D graphic style. Can I get a Cowabunga Dudes? You can take on those classic villians alone or go online for some multiplayer co-op action. Thats the same great side scrolling, beat’em up action of the past, only revamped for those fans on Xbox Live Arcade.

August 12: Trials HD
Motorcycle racing fans will love this next platformer called Trials HD and the more than 50 mind-boggling tracks. But it doesn’t stop there when they throw in a level editor that allows you to create and share your very own tracks. High flying explosive action for Motorcycle fans is sure to please you in Trials HD on Xbox Live Arcade.

August 19: Shadow Complex
Perhaps saving the best for last comes the sure to be instant hit of Shadow Complex. This is a hard to believe its not a full retail game and sure to become an instant hit from Chair Entertainment. The creators of Undertow have created classic side-scroller of old and packed it with the stunning visuals of Epic Games’ industry-leading Unreal Engine 3. This is a must buy game for 2009 for sure.

Well this years Summer of Arcade is sure to offer something or more than something for all gamers on Xbox Live. This is the perfect way to get some of these great Arcade games and before some of those blockbuster retail games release this fall. Its another hot summer and a hot lineup for the Xbox Live Arcade this year.

Shooter Week: The Grinder

I believe that I mentioned this during E3, but I will say it again. High Voltage Software is currently developing a four-player online survival horror FPS for the Wii called The Grinder. (more…)

Wii Review: The Munchables

I have to be honest, when I heard the name of this game, it for some odd reason gave me a serious case of the munchies, so I had to go out and get some taco bell (which tasted bad, but that’s irrelevant). (more…)

Shooter Week: COD Modern Warfare 2

You can’t have a special about shooters without naming one of the top players. The Call of Duty franchise has been a mainstay in the shooter lineup for the last couple of years. COD: Modern Warfare helped push players like me from mostly offline to full online participants. Their captivating ranking system pulls you into that favorite “one more game” syndrome. Feuds were created and lasted, tactics were created and tossed within a matter of days as they caught on and exploited. This fall we finally get to return to the Modern field with M-4’s and M-16’s in hand ready to take each other out.

Modern Warfare 2 will feature a form of co-op, although it will not be through the story mode. It has been described as more of the “Mile High Club” mission with 2 players, it still sounds hard and way too much fun. Of course the online mode will be available, with two download map packs promised after launch. It looks like Infinity Ward is still holding the torch in multiplayer.

Taking place several years after Modern Warfare, we see Soap as a Captain in charge of a special task force 141. You are a member of task force 141 and your goal is to take down Imran Zakhaev’s successor. TF 141 was created to monitor the uprising of Vladimir Makarov as he gains power and influence in Russia. What I find most interesting about the story is it mimics WWII’s origins. When it launches in November, you will have three options to choose from. You have your basic game only edition for $59.99. The hardened edition, which comes with an art book, and promo card to download the original Call of Duty is $79.99. The prestige edition comes with all of the above and night vision goggles with a Soap MacTavish molded head to display them on for $149.00. So the question comes to how much money do you want to plunk down to prove how hard you truly are.

We can all look forward to the online ranking, great storytelling, and completely immersed environments to take on the enemies of freedom.

X360 Review: The Bigs 2

Ever wondered if when Baseball players took performance enhancers that it actually improved their skills during every game. (more…)

Shooters Week – Halo 3: ODST

With only two months left until the launch of Halo 3: ODST, fans of the Halo Nation are eagerly awaiting on one of this years most anticipated titles to drop into their favorite game stores. Formerly announced as Halo 3: Recon and what was suppose be an expansion of events in Halo 3, has now grown into a full fledge stand alone game for the Halo series.

Renamed to Halo 3: ODST, this is the first game in the shooter series that has our hero Master Chief sitting things out as a playable character. The new hero or heroes will be none other than the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) from the various Halo novels and games. The ODST, also known as Hell Jumpers, are the guys that litteral drop from above and into the thick of the fire fight first.

The events in ODST take place about two weeks before Master Cheif returns back to Earth in Halo 3 and depicts the aftermath of the Covenant invasion forces on New Mombasa, Earth. Fans of Halo 2 have really wanted to know more about the story and the efforts to defend Earth against the Covenant assault.

The game begins with you in the role of the Rookie and your ODST team has been sent down to help defend New Mombasa. During your drop to the surface you become separated from the team and need to regroup with them. Once you reach the location of where your team is suppose to be, you will soon find something has gone wrong.

A sniper rifle is found on a Lamp Post and after you pick it up the story begins to unfold by a series of flashbacks, detailing all of the events of your team members Dutch, Romeo, Buck, Dare, and Mickey. With ODST you have for the first time more of an open world to explore and you’re free to explore the various parts of the game through the eyes of each of your team members and in any order you would like.  

As an ODST you have to approach this game differently than the Spartan Master Chief would have done, you don’t have his strength, shields, or skills to help in your fight. The approach of a run and gun player might not be your best option and more of a stealthy tactic might be a better plan of an attack for the ODST.

During the course of game play for this new campaign, you will unlock the new co-op Fire Fight mode and experience what it would be like to defend off wave after wave of a Covenant attack, something fans of the books know all to well. This new game mode is similar to the popular Horde mode in Gears of War 2 or in defending against zombies in games like Left 4 Dead, only set in the world of Halo.

The new game also comes complete with a 2nd disc and all of the current features for the Halo 3 multiplayer. The game includes all of the maps, including all of the DLC map packs released so far to date, including the final three that will become available for those who currently own Halo 3 already. Both Halo 3 and ODST gamers can now play against each other in Live multiplayer matches.

I’m a bit torn with the fact that the only live action comes from the existing Halo 3 maps and characters, having purchased just about all of these maps already. It feels like I’m buying the maps all over again now; plus we are only allowed to play with the Spartans or Elites and miss out on the use of ODST vs. Brutes in some Live action.

If all of this is not enough to draw you in and make up the mind of any Halo Fan boy, then the announcement at this years E3 might have gone in for the final kill with the invite to the Halo: Reach beta multiplayer for those owning Halo 3: ODST. Its clear that Bungie is not done with their Halo franchise at all.

If your only a fan of the Halo 3 multiplayer game, then you might want to keep on downloading the DLC map packs, but if a shot at the next game is on your mind, then it will be hard to pass up I think. If your a hard core Halo Fan Boy, then you’ve more and likely placed your money down already on ODST.

The game looks great from Campaign to Fire Fight in what I’ve seen an should become a clear favorite of shooters on the Xbox 360, after all it was the game Halo that helped launch and built the online playground that we all love today.

NC Update 7/20

Here are the latest game videos and DS demos available from the Nintendo Channel. (more…)

DSiWare Update 7/20

Here is your weekly update of games coming out for DSiWare. (more…)

Wiiware/VC Update 7/20

Here is your weekly update of game releases for Wiiware and the Virtual Console. (more…)