Review: Astroslugs

I have a confession to make, creative thinking is not exactly my strong suit. This is ironic because one of my favorite genres in the video game world is the puzzle genre. Stepping outside of a comfort zone, and actually using ones brain has become a thing of the past nowadays. In a world filled with mindless shooters and beat’ em ups, it’s nice a change of pace when something like Astroslugs comes along. While it may not be that complicated to play, the level of challenge on offer here will have you second guessing yourself every step of the way. (more…)

Bit Barons Interview

What’s up readers, I am joined here today by Alexander Zacherl, Managing Director of the indie game development company Bit Barons. We are going to be discussing their first creation, a grid like puzzle game named Astroslugs, which will be available tomorrow for both PC and Mac. Let’s not waste any more time and get on with it shall we? (more…)

Astroslugs Gameplay Trailer

Preview: The Cursed Crusade

Atlus, in partnership with developer Kylotonn Entertainment, today revealed The Cursed Crusade, a new action-adventure game featuring two player co-op (online and local split-screen) for PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, and PC. (more…)

Developer Interview: Two Fold Secret

Matt (MrB4) had a chance to sit down with an up and coming Video Game development team by the name of Two Fold Secret. They are the creative masterminds behind the extremely deep PC flash game Where We Remain, an adventure title that has an old school feel to it. What is the game about?, how and why did they start a gaming company together?, do they like to use the word overland alot?, all of this and more will be discussed, so be sure to listen in. (more…)

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Week in Review: Feb.21-27, 2010

Topics: Aliens VS Predator, Fret Nice, Crap of Defense, Puzzlegeddon, & P.B Winterbottom

Intro music performed by “Incubus” off their album “Make yourself”
Outro music performed by “Bilithic” off their album “empire”

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Week in Review: Jan.31-Feb.13, 2010

It has been a few weeks since the guys have gotten together to talk games. And it just so happens that community member, Pimp/Dark Method 10K, has come to take the whole WiR episode over. He had guns. Lots of em!

Topics include:

- Stoked: Big Air Edition
- Bittos+
- Drawn to life: The next chapter
- NBA 2K10
- Blood Bowl
- Army of Two: The 40th Day
- Mass Effect 2

Intro & Outro music selection performed by “A Wilhelm Scream” off their album “Ruiner”.

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PC Review: Tales of Monkey Island – Ch4

It’s The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood in the latest installment from Telltale Games Chapter 4 of Tales of Monkey Island episodic content. Guybrush now finds himself back on Flotsam Island, the one place he wasn’t looking to see anytime soon and by the hands of none other than Morgan LeFlay,who has turned him over to the evil clutches of De Singe, only to find himself seized by an angry bunch of Pirates who have invoked the Pirate Code and charged him with various crimes.

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

Guybrush is once again in a mess of trouble and must rely on himself and of course you to get him through another wild an wacky adventure. Some of the old characters make return appearances as you get to explore more of Flotsam Island, learn about Pirate Law and this time you’ll actually get to see the inside of the famous Club 41. Once again the writers have cleverly created a fun filled tale for our hero pirate and you to enjoy. Chapter 4 has becomemy favorite of all the releases so far to date and basd solely on the story line.

As with their earlier chapters in the series, the game has the same great visuals and play that you’ve come to enjoy. You get the same controls and features to make your way through thisgame and by the time you’ve reached Chapter 4, you should be really comfortable with all these game controls. This episode is filled with funny and entertaining dialog for the story line and has a great voice acting cast returning. The game has more zany puzzles to solve in order to progress the game along. Chapter 4 gives us even more and more details about some of the characters and I really couldn’t see playing these chapters out of order.

But its not all fun and you need to prepare yourself for some very shocking turns in this chapter. I personally found a small portion of the game to even pay a slight tribute to the ABC show Lost, if an ever so simple tribute it was at that. The final tale in the end is set up really nicely I think, once you make it to the end of Chapter 4 and you’ll be dying for sure to play the final release in the end.

TellTale Games and Lucas Arts has provided a very entertaining tale with Tales of Monkey Island series and the final chapter Rise of the Pirate God is set to release on December 8thnow. Looking back over the past four episodes I clearly thing they’ve provided a very fun and entertaining game think the whole series is worthy of the rating I’m giving this current chapter. (A+)

Robert Owens

Week in Modern Warfare 2

It’s Modern Warfare 2 week!  Enough said – LISTEN!

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COD: Controversy A Wife’s Opinion

****SPOILER ALERT**** This post gives some spoilers about COD: Modern Warfare 2. If you do not want to know, stop reading and move along. If you have played the game, feel free to add your voice below.

We here at Rejected Gamer have often heard and or wished that our girlfriends/wives/significant other would take an interest in our hobby. Now I can say that my Wife is very understanding with the games I choose to play. She does not question the amount of gore in Left 4 Dead, nor the tactics in Endwar or Halo. What I’m trying to say is this, I have one of the most understanding and smart women in the world. With that said, I’ve heard some hints dropped about a controversy around a level in COD: Modern Warfare 2. I did my due diligence and found a video clip on youtube covering the “No Russian” level. Now I’m not going to add my thoughts about this until the bottom of this post, but I wanted to share with you what my wife thought about it in her own words.

“I just got done watching the No Russian level of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 game with Joe. I believe that Infinity Ward went a little too far with all the civilian carnage in this level. But there’s a reason we put these games as Mature making sure kids don’t play this game. I’m glad there’s an option to skip the level. I have not seen the entire game so I can’t be too hard on them, I’m just not understanding the whole reasoning behind this horrible level. But I did notice however, there was not one child, teen, or baby throughout the video feed. So they have my respect for that. I just hope that when Joe plays this game, the level or whatever before it will explain it all.”

– Abby Keman’s Wife

Now since I’ve not had a chance to play the game yet, I cannot give a true fair and unbiased opinion about the level in question. I can however give you my knee jerk reaction. It is a very rare occasion that I find myself in that I cannot defend the actions of a game developer, this is one of those occasions. I had to watch the video three times to get the full effect. The first time I barley made it one minute in, it was that drastic/shocking. You mow down civilians like the undead in Left 4 Dead or Dead Rising. It was very chilling and reminded me of several of the terrorist attacks around the world. The only thing that I will say with certainty is this; whenever you stumble across something this controversial please do your research and come to your own conclusion.

Ready for more Monkeys in Chapter four?

This Friday, October 3oth marks the launch of chapter 4 in the Tales of Monkey Island series. In The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, Guybrush is double-crossed by the pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay and returned to Flotsam Island against his will. Facing an angry mob of poxed pirates with a long list of grievances, Guybrush must defend himself in court against a smooth-talking prosecutor and absolve himself of the false accusations in order to continue his quest to rid the Caribbean of the insidious pox of LeChuck!

Telltale Games is closing in on the remaining chapters in this 5 chapter Adventure Game series. After the first three chapters, we now find Guybrush returning back to where it all started pretty much. If I know anything about Telltale Games and this series, I’m sure they’ll have enough fresh places for us to explore and new puzzles to solve in spite of returning to Flotsam Island. Still it will be a joy to see some of the old castaways on Flotsam again.

If you’ve already purchased the full collection and played through from the start, you should be ready for what happens next in this point and click adventure. But if your wondering what might be ahead in the game, then take a look at some of the latest screen shots.

PC Review: Tales of Monkey Island – Ch3

Guybrush finds himself once again in the deep end of trouble in Lair of the Leviathan (Chapter 3 Tales of Monkey Island) and teamed up with none other than the assassin Morgan LeFlay now. The search continues for the La Esponja Grande and to gain back his wife Elaine from the recently reformed LeChuck and for a means to an end of the evil spread of the Pox.

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

Telltale Games has raised their Sails once again and set a course for another great episode in the Tales of Monkey Island series. Its great to see that they are staying true to the first two episodes and able to continue with another great story arch here, filled with great acting as always and ending with wonderful moments of laughter that we’ve grown to expect.

We are at the halfway point in the five part series and all signs are pointing to a great ending for this series of adventure games. Once again we have an interactive tale that is revealed as we point and click our way through this adventure game. Filled with that same level of fun and challenging puzzles, only set in an all new set of locations to explore. Telltale Games has produced a perfect package from visual, sound, and storyline here in chapter 3. The story starts where we left off in chapter 2 and does a nice job of refreshing our memories of the events that have already taken place.

Guybrush has found himself meeting the famous De Cava and now a new order of Pirates in our latest adventure. Just like the other chapters, its up to Guybrush to solve the problems at hand in his rare style and get himself out of the mess his suddenly in. Only this time he’ll have to seek the aid of none other than Morgan LeFlay to help him pull it all off.

The graphics and all of the visuals are great as expected with chapter 3 and they help make this game a real joy to experience. The great thing about each chapter is the worlds you explore tend to be different each time and you don’t find yourself going over the same locations from chapter to chapter at least. I have yet to become board with any of these chapters and I love the visuals as each of these stories unfold.

Now from what you’ve seen to what you will hear comes a variety of new sounds in Lair of the Leviathan. I think TellTale has nailed the mood of this game for any situation that pops up during the course of play in the sound department. Then you bring in the voice acting and find they haven’t skipped a beat from one chapter to the next here.

I still think you really need to play the first two chapters in this series to really grasp all that is going on in this adventure game. After completing chapter 3, your going to want the next chapters as well I think. Telltale games really knows how to do episodic content games and draws their fans into their worlds over and over.

I find enjoyment as always from Telltale Games and If you are hooked with the first two chapters, then you’ll be on board for this whole adventure series and I can’t wait to see what happens next to Guybrush. Oh and the game has lots of Monkeys in it as well… gotta love a game with Monkeys in it right? (A)

Robert Owens

PC Review: Tales of Monkey Island – Ch2

When we last saw our hero Guybrush Threepwood, he had found himself at the wrong end of a Sword and at the mercy of the mighty pirate huntress, Morgan LaFlay. We soon learn that it’s the Marquis de Singe who is not about to let Guybrush get away with that infected hand of his. Guybrush’s plans to save his wife Elaine from the evil clutches of LeChuck will have to wait at least a bit for now.

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

Telltale Games doesn’t waste any time in slipping right back into all the witty banter and swashbuckler fun with the release of Chapter 2, the Siege of Spinner Cay. Before Guybrush knows what he’s really up against, its off with his hand and only to be replaced by a cliche hook of course. I’m not about to sum up the battle between Threepwood and LeFlay for you now, but I’ll tell you that Guybrush will soon be setting course for none other than the Jerkbait Islands to locate Elaine.

What I will say is that this Adventure game has a wonderful story line once again, great graphics to support that, excellent voice acting and a large cast of new characters to bring it all together. If you loved Chapter 1 of this series, then you’ve been dying like the rest of us to get back into this tale of high seas laughs & adventure and to learn what will happen next to our Pirate Hero.

If you’ve happened to skip out on Chapter 1, then your more and likely going to be lost at sea with all that is going on here, not to mention you’ve missed out on a very entertaining introduction to the whole Monkey Island series. Hopefully you’ve purchased the full set of the Tales of Monkey Island and you’re simply waiting for each chapter to finally release.

What your in store for is a fun adventure this time around and you’ll be introduced to the mysterious Merfolk of the Jerkbait Islands and a new band of Pirates that have come down with a case of the Sickly Pox. Its now up to you to solve the various puzzles in this set of adventures and to reach the conclusion for Chapter 2. 

The games controls are pretty much the same as before and you will use the mouse to point and click your way around the screen or the keyboard if you prefer that perhaps. As you meet characters in the story you simply click the available dialogs to interact with them. You have the same inventory storage space as before and may carry a number of objects around with you just like last time.

This chapter is just a little over two hours in length for the most part and every minute of that is entertainment at its best. Funny dialog and great voice acting makes this game a real hit I think. As the game draws to a close, it will be like those old movies from way back in the day and finish with another cliff hanger of an ending; setting us up nicely for the release of Chapter 3 next month. If you loved the first chapter, then your going to love Siege of the Spinner Cay as well.

I’m still new to all of these adventure games and so far I’m loving these interactive stories here. Telltale Games has some very talented staff working on these stories and with two out of the five chapters complete, I can only imagine what they will do with the remaining three chapters next. (A+)

Robert Owens

Week in Review July 25-31, 2009

We sneak around to the water cooler again this week, with the exception of Jeff. We think he got busted, but we’re not sure. Matt, Rob, and Mike we able to sneak away safely to chat about the games they played, so sit back and enjoy! Make sure to check out the reviews and leave us feedback.

Reviews:

• X360: Assassin’s Creed
• Wii: The Munchables
• PS3: Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of Destruction
• X360: The Bigs 2
• PC: Secret of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal
• Wii: Wii Sports Resort

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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