March 2009 Vide-Game Picks

Here’s my selection of games for March 2009!

Halo Wars – March 3rd (Metacritic 82/100)

Bring It On Son!

Why? Because it’s the Halo Universe gone RTS. Sure, it isn’t Halo 3 or crazy competitive online, but it’s a nice change of pace and gives you a different perespective (one might even call it more intellectual).

Resident Evil 5 – March 13, 2009 (Metacritic 87/100)

Zombies Dem Bumbaclot!

Why? If you have played any Resident Evil game in the past, you probably already know that killing zombies and doing some puzzle solving makes for an excellent action/adventure franchise. Besides, Wesker is back in this game, along with all the crazy plot twists and virus mutations you can handle.

Phantasy Star Portable – March 3, 2009 (79/100 avg. so far)

Size Matters!

Why? Because good RPG’s are scarce now a days, and I believe in supporting SEGA, especially since the excellent Valkyria Chronicles on PS3. The Phantasy Star Universe is rich and filled with adventure. That and you’ll have a reason to dust off your PSP.

Resistance Retribution – March 17, 2009 (Metacritic 83/100)

Viva La French Fries!

Why? Take te Resistance to your handlheld system. Many are saying this is the most graphically impressive PSP game, others like me aren’t saying that, but are saying that it’s solid shooting gameplay and you should try it out. The demo is available now if you want to try it out first.

Guitar Hero Metallica – March 29, 2009 (No Reviews Yet)

Rock The Fuck Out!

Why? Yes, I know that the Aerosmith spin-off wasn’t as much content as expected (I beat it in 4 hours total), but the Metallica version is going to have at least 52 tracks (at last count). And many of them are by other bands, which is refreshing. I will advise that you try to find the best price on this one or wait a month till the price drops. As for the game itself, I have no doubt doubt that it’s gonna be fun.

Resistance 2 HD Video Review!

Nathan Hale is back and even more badass than ever. I bought this game yesterday and can say it’s the best shooter I have played this year, mainly because it’s not broken (has minor bugs but dont ruin the game and will probably get patched shortly), has great co-op, great competitive modes, and an excellent single player campaign as well. I recommend this game fully.

Here’s the Gametrailers.com review in HD so you can get an idea of what the game has to offer. Remember this is just one review and to make an informed decision..  you should read other reviews as well or go to metacritic to see what the general concensus is. Enjoy!

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Video Review!

Gametrailers.com has just uploaded their high def video review of the PS3 exclusive Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm. Take their review with a grain of salt, as I have seen most game journalists give the game slightly better marks. I will be getting my hands on this game very soon and will post up my own impressions and comparison with Naruto Rise of a Ninja. I think it will help some decide if this is the game to get or if they should wait for Naruto Broken Bond for their Xbox360. Clicking on the image will get you the video. Enjoy!

Gears of War 2 Video Review!

Here’s one of the first Gears of War 2 reviews, what makes this one special is it’s a video review and it’s in HD. Enjoy! Just click on the image.

Initial Impressions of Fable 2

One word describes it well: Intelligent.

Every decision you make affects you. How hard you work, how you make money, how you purchase property, who you decide to do work for, what kind of expressions you show people around you, who you wield a weapon in front of, how you treat your dog.

All of those things affect the game and your character. I played the game and had many goosebump moments. Moments of realization that made me ask myself “Why the fuck couldn’t any other game think of this before?”. I was flabbergasted to say the least. Having played through it for 3 1/2 hours when I only intended to do so for about half an hour and then get some rest.

Let’s put it this way… as I sit here at work, and my 360 is at home turned off, my character is still making money off of the rent that I am getting from the property that I purchased in Fable 2 after I spent some time working with the blacksmith and with woodchopping.

You get what you put in and I’m getting about 150 gold every 5 minutes that goes by, whether I am playing the game or not.

Fable II Initial Reviews Look Excellent

Let’s look at some of the reviews so far. They are all solid so far and indicate a huge success. I will be picking up my copy tomorrow and giving my initial impressions as well.

3DJuegos.com 9.1/10 here

GameSpot 8.5/10 here

PCWorld 100/100 here

Game Revolution B+/A+ here

IGN Australia 9.2/10 here

X-Play 5/5 here

GameSpy 4.5/5 here

8Bit Joystick 97/100 here

EveryEye Italia 8.5/10 here

CheatCC 4.5/5 here

GamingXP 90/100 here

Konzolista.cz A/A+ here

Level7 8/10 here

Dutch Gamer 8/10 here

Meristation 9/10 here

GamesOnSmash 9.9/10 here

GameReactor 8/10 here

IGN 8.8/10 here

TeamXbox 8.9/10 here

itAvisen 5/6 here

CVG 9.2/10 here

Play 88/100 here

Ars Technica (Verdict: Buy) here

Danish GameReactor 9/10 here

Xbox360Achievements 94/100 here

GameReactor Sweden 8/10 here

GameReactor Norway 8/10 here

Xbox360 Fanboy Positive Review here

IGN UK 9.5/10 here

GamesRadar 9/10 here

DailyGame 7.8/10 here

Spongy Chicken 9/10 here

Kikizo 9/10 here

PlanetXbox360 9.5/10 here

Snappy Gamer 5/5 here

Strategy Informer 9/10 here

RPGSite 96/100 here

EuroGamer 10/10 here

OXM UK 8/10 here

VideoGamer 9/10 here

My Top Game Picks – October 2008

To make this list easier to follow, there are some guidelines. The games discussed herein are games that have a release date between October 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008 and in brief, why I think they are worth purchasing and for which console.

Dead Space – October 14, 2008 For Either Xbox360 or PS3

This game redefines science fiction survival horror, in space, with unique limb-detachment features. Shoot a bad guy in the head? He’ll swipe his limbs around till he hits you. Shoot a bad guy in the leg? He’ll just use his arms instead. Couple this crazy new idea with a solid survivol horror base and you have an excellent game, which reviewers are already saying trumps Resident Evil easily. Don’t believe me? Peep this trailer:

SOCOM: Confrontation – October 14, 2008 For PS3 (Exclusive)

The SOCOM series has been gathering a great fanbase ever since the original. This one takes all of that and throws in a bunch of new features, better graphics, larger maps and a hungry fanbase. I’ve played the closed beta and was very satisfied with the way things were looking. It’s strategic style is a nice change of pace from typical shooters. If you decide to get this, which I strongly recommend, get the headset bundle, you’ll save yourself $30 over if you bought the headset separately and you will get a great official Sony bluetooth headset. Now what are you waiting for? Make some calls, get online and co-ordinate. Runnin’ and Gunnin’ will get you dropped like a fool!

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – October 21, 2008 For Either Xbox360 or PS3

Let’s look at some basic truths. Comic book based video games do not do too well. However, there are some games which get their balls together and decide to stand up to modern day expectations and technical standards. The graphics and gameplay seem to be much improved. There is now a focus on the combat more-so than on swinging around wasting a lot of time. Wolverine and other superheroes will make their appearances, as well as a fair share of bad guys (Electro, King Pin, Venom). I’m not one to hold high expectations for a spiderman game, as past versions have dissapointed, but I do believe we have ourselves a winner this time!

Midnight Club: Los Angeles – October 21, 2008 For Either Xbox360 or PS3

Sure, Burnout Paradise is a great game. However, it is lacking some cool features. One of which is the ability to customize your ride. Well, look no further, Midnight Club LA looks to take what Burnout Paradise has started and pushed it to the next level. Now you can race with a ton of licensed vehicles, you can modify them and race them to your hearts content in a number of ways, online and offline in a sandbox environment. Peep the Ducati video:

Far Cry 2 – October 21, 2008 For Either Xbox360 or PS3

Let’s face it, the best shooter we have seen is Crysis, but that has never been available to console gamers. Now Far Cry 2 gives you hope. The graphics are simply amazing and you have the ability to create your own maps, right out of the box. With both online and offline modes, you just cannot lose if you buy this game. You are free to roam and kill in a large landscape (50km) in whatever manner pleases you. Do you want to go stealth? Go ahead, snipe their brains out. Do you want to strap up and run into the heat of battle? Go ahead soldier. Do it your way, but first buy this game.

Fable 2 – October 21, 2008 For Xbox360 (Exclusive)

The amount of RPG’s currently out isn’t a great deal, but the majority of them are on the Xbox360. This game is going to have a hundred ohours of gameplay, and even more with all of the side quests, etc. If you haven’t played the first one,  you should. It was an excellent RPG and this one takes all of that and improves upon it. “Fable II is the sequel to the wildly successful original that sold more than 3 million copies, offering even more choices and building on the core gameplay theme of Fable, where a player’s every decision continually defines whom they become.” In this game, you can get married, have children, have a dog or get rid of him.. among many other things not many other RPG’s have attempted to do.

LittleBigPlanet – October 21, 2008 For PS3 (Exclusive)

Music games, shooting games, horror games, racing games. Yes, we have seen it all and done it all. It can get old after some time. So for anyone looking to just have pure unadulterated fun, this game is right for you. Create your own levels, with or without friends and play with … or… without friends. Upload your level onto the internet for all to play on and rate and rate other players’ levels as well. The types of levels you can create and things you can do in LBP are literally endless. No.. seriously.. I recently saw a video where someone made a Mirror’s Edge level. I have some insane ideas for levels and no.. they do not include a giant Penis like some of the levels already floating out there. Initial reviews are looking stellar and there is simply no equivalent to this game. It bends all genres.

Motorstorm Pacific Rift – October 28, 2008 For PS3 (Exclusive)

I have to admit that the first Motorstorm didn’t feel right when I first played it. It felt like I should have been going faster and overtaking people quicker. I was wrong. I wasn’t using the boost feature, nor was I using the best terrain for my vehicle. Learn your routes and how to properly use your juice (not manjuice) and you will have a ton of fun with this game. The second one improves in every aspect. If the desert atmosphere of the first game bored you, well get out your party hats, because now you can race your monster truck through lush jungles and volcanoes.

Fallout 3 – October 28, 2008 For Xbox360 (Exclusive DLC in Future)

It’s an RPG with over 100 hours of gameplay, with guns in a post apocolyptic environment. Okay.. right now I’m thinking of another sentence or more details to add, but all I can tell you is to keep re-reading that first sentence…. That’s says it all. With the shortage of RPG’s out there, and with the proven quality of Bethesda, and initial reviews which are calling it GOTY already… you know you cant go wrong. It’s a work of art.

ATI HD 4850 Vs. GTX 280 Uber-Comparison

Gameplanet took some time and benchmarked and fully tested the newest graphics cards from ATI and from NVidia to give you this great article. Check it out. I’m sure you are going to want to know who the true winner is.

The Incredible Hulk: HD Video Review

In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting anything from this game, and that’s EXACTLY what it delivered, hence the poor reviews all over.

When will companies start doing superhero/comic-book video-game translations properly?

(BTW- Those who saw the movie know that it rocked, the game however.. doesn’t).

Age Of Conan: HD Video Review!

I’m hearing a lot of good and bad things about this game. The good things outweigh the bad obviously (if you’ve been reading some of the stellar reviews). Also, it should be noted that most of the bad things are related to glitches, most of which are already fixed if not being patched as we speak.

Enjoy! (And I hope your PC can handle it).