I loved Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64. I loved it so much that my fifth grade birthday party was James Bond themed. I played that game on every difficulty, even 00 Agent, and unlocked every cheat code. I spent hours on end playing split screen multiplayer. But when a spiritual remake was announced for Wii I had mixed feelings. Would it be able to capture the same magic the original had, or would it be a cheap cash in on the game that put console first person shooters on the map? Despite Eurocom proving themselves to be a fairly competent developer with Dead Space Extraction, I had little hope that Activision could match the quality of the original. But much to my surprise, Goldeneye 007 is a great game. It features just enough nostalgic elements to take you back to yesteryear, but also blazes its own trail. An interesting mixture of staying faithful to the game and the movie source material, Goldeneye 007 for Wii modernizes the story, changing locations and certain elements to appeal to modern gamers, but also gives the gameplay an update as well. Most noticeable is the change in actors portraying Bond and other supporting characters. The entire game has been recast, with the exception of M, now featuring Daniel Craig as Bond. With this change comes a change in attitude as well. Craig's Bond is much more visceral and intense, something that also translates into the gameplay.
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The ESRB's rating summary of Bit.Trip FLUX states that "This is a musical paddle game in which players move a vertical platform to deflect waves of dots that fly across the screen." The summary goes on to say "With each collision, a musical tone is emitted to correspond with the beat of the background music." That sounds exactly like Bit.Trip BEAT to me! You could have guessed that already if you have checked out the screenshots available for the game, but there is one notable difference. The paddle is now on the right side of the screen. What other surprises does Gaijin Games have in store for their last entry in the Bit.Trip series?
Each console had a number of heavy hitters in 2010, making each console worth owning. But which console came out on top? I will take a look at each console's top exclusives and determine which one had the best to offer.
There weren't that many great exclusives in 2010 as both Microsoft and Sony shifted their gaze towards motion controlled gaming but next year is sure to make up for it. Here are some of the many great games coming out in 2011. Little Big Planet 2 - PS3 Unlike the first Little Big Planet, which focused almost entirely on creating platforming levels, users can now create racing games, arcade shooters and even RPG's. Levels created in the original can also be ported into its sequel, making it the ultimate user created gaming platform for 2011. Gears of War 3 - Xbox 360 New weapons, mechs, a better online experience, new gameplay modes and more make the latest Gears of War look like a surefire hit. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds - Xbox 360, PS3 A sequel to one of my favorite arcade fighters of all time, featuring new characters like Marvel's Thor, She-Hulk as well as Capcom favorites like Albert Wesker from Resident Evil and Arthur from Super Ghouls and Goblins. Batman: Arkham City - Xbox 360, PS3 Batman will now put his detective skills to good use, solving forensic puzzles at crime scenes and comparing his findings to a criminal database full of Gotham City's most dangerous criminals. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of action... and a new multiplayer mode to keep you and your friends busy. Click here to read more of my HD Gaming in 2011 Preview For every mega hit like Call Duty: Black Ops there are several great games that don't receive the attention they deserve. This list contains a few of the best games that have failed to stir up much interest at retail, but are surely worth adding to your collection. A lot of them have received sizable price cuts, making that decision even easier. Blur - Xbox 360, PS3 An arcade racing game from Bizarre Creations, the team behind the Project Gotham games, Blur was more Mario Kart than it was sim racer. Featuring real cars with exaggerated handling and power ups, this was a vehicular combat racing hybrid for a crowd that had grown tired of the Mushroom Kingdom. Despite reviewing well Blur's poor sales are leading Activision to consider closing down the studio just three years after its purchase. On November 16, 2010 Activision announced that it was "exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business." Continue reading the rest of my choices by clicking here Super Meat Boy will be receiving an impressive update in January, allowing users to create their own levels and submit them online for other gamers to try. Wanna-be game designers can use anything they have seen in the game, outside of the bosses, to build their own deadly playgrounds. To prevent people from uploading impossible to complete levels the creators must first complete their level before submitting. The online level portal will allow players to sort levels by difficulty and rating. "Enter the Unknown" mode will grab user create levels at random, arranging them in order based on difficulty. A new "Super Meat World" mode will include 30 new bandages to collect in levels handpicked by Team Meat, including some developed by other indie studios. Get it now on Steam- I got my copy for $3.75 on Monday!
Harmonix, creators of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, is once again an independent developer. This will not effect their support of previously released titles, they still plan on releasing DLC for Rock Band. The studio is currently hard at work on an unannounced project. I wonder if it will be something more in line with their most recent hit, Dance Central.
2010 was a great year for gaming. Every genre was well represented, giving gamers a wealth of choices no matter what their system of preference was. My game of the year choices are broken down into several categories including genre, platform and overall best game.
Best Racer Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 Gran Turismo 5, developed for nearly five years by Polyphony Digital, takes the lead in the racing genre despite stiff competition from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The sheer amount of care and polish that went into this game is absolutely nuts and will certainly keep simulation racing fans busy for years to come. Runner-ups: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Blur, Split Second Best First Person Shooter Halo: Reach - Xbox 360 Bungie's last Halo game before becoming a multiplatform developer for Activision, Halo: Reach is a finely crafted first person shooter with a stellar campaign and fiercely competitive online multiplayer. It adds new elements to the Halo franchise like a class system that offers different power ups like a bubble shield or jet pack. Although it didn't get as much press as Call of Duty: Black Ops I personally feel it is a much better polished and overal greater product because of the worthwhile single player campaign alongside the addictive multiplayer. Runner-ups: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Goldeneye 007 Although much of Nintendo's release calendar is shrouded in secrecy, I take a look at some of the high profile games coming out for Wii in 2011 including, Mario Sports Mix, Conduit 2, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and many more.
Click Here to Read More Video game movies are almost always bad, no matter how good the source material is. The major problem with making movies out of games stems from the fact that most of these games are classics because of how they play, not their stories. In many old school games the story is simply there as a means to an end, a reason for the hero to pursue his or her goal. While gaming has become much more cinematic in recent times, there are still very few games that have stories worth translating into other forms of media due to most of them being pretty derivative of existing movies in the first place. Click here to read my choices for the worst video game movies of all time |