Archive for January, 2006

If you’re enjoying some holiday R&R this week, now is the perfect time to get caught up on all of the terrific games you didn’t play last year. I’ve somehow played through pretty much everything. (Dirty job? Sure, but somebody has to do it.) Here are my picks, countdown-style, for the innovative games of 2005 that managed to fascinate, thrill and keep me playing into the small hours of the morning.

10. "Condemned: Criminal Origins" (Sega), Xbox 360

This is the only Xbox 360 launch title actually worth owning. You play as an FBI agent on the trail of a nut-job serial killer. Think "Silence of the Lambs" meets "Silent Hill." If the shadowy Farmhouse level doesn’t scare the figgy pudding out of you, nothing will.

9. "Advance Wars: Dual Strike" (Nintendo), Nintendo DS

Forget "Nintendogs"; the best reason to own a DS this year was this tiny little cart. You’ll be playing this one well into 2007.

8. "Battlefield 2: Modern Combat" (EA), Xbox, PS2

Console gamers finally got a taste of the excellent "Battlefield" series that PC gamers have been raving about for years. With a bona fide single player experience, this game will nest in the warm belly of your gaming console for months.

7. "Lumines" (Ubisoft), PSP

No, this puzzler isn’t better than "Tetris" … but it comes pretty darn close. It has tons of style, addictive gameplay and one of the best soundtracks you’ll find in a game.

6. "God of War" (Sony), PS2

The most unapologetically brutal action game of the year. You play as Kratos, a bare-pated, death-dealing man-beast out to slay a Greek god.

5. "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories" (Rockstar), PSP

Rockstar somehow managed to squeeze a full-size "Grand Theft Auto" game onto the diminutive PSP without cutting any corners. And this isn’t a simple port; it’s an epic-scale original "GTA," and easily one of the best games in the series.

4. "Resident Evil 4" (Capcom), PS2, GC

Capcom finally gave its starched "Resident Evil" series a much-needed gameplay makeover. The result: one of the most unnerving zombie games you’ve ever played. Sure, the story is garbage, but the gameplay … oh, the sweet gameplay.

3. "The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction" (VU Games), PS2, Xbox, GC: This game does what every superhero game should do: It made me feel super. If you’ve ever wanted to be the Hulk, here’s your chance. Bounding across the city while leaving a trail of property damage in your wake is heady, addictive fun. This is the best superhero game of the year.

2. "Shadow of the Colossus" (Sony), PS2: Beautiful, subtle, lush: I can’t possibly say enough good things about this disc. Your task: to bring down a series of colossi — huge, lumbering, mysterious creatures the size of mountains.

1. "Guitar Hero" (Red Octane), PS2: No game on this list — not one — pulled me into its vortex and held my attention like "Guitar Hero" did. The game comes with a special electric guitar controller, complete with five color-coded fret buttons and a whammy bar. You’ll start off playing basement rock clubs, but eventually you’ll work your way up to sold-out arenas.

Source: http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060102/Biz02/601020407/-1/BIZ/CAT=Biz02

Apparently real enough for GameFly to have a policy on it.

Last month, there were a few grumblings about the Xbox 360, including a rumor that the hardware scratched discs and made them unplayable. It seemed like just a rumor – we were never able to replicate the problem in the offices, and then the complaints died out. But it may still be a problem for some folks, including the game rental service GameFly, which has apparently had enough of a problem with scratched 360 discs to come up with a form letter response.

The letter, obtained by Gamasutra, warns the renter that the disc has been scratched, and asks that the renter not borrow any more 360 discs until the problem has been resolved. "In the future, should GameFly receive XBOX 360 games from you that have been damaged, you will be charged a replacement fee."

How does one resolve this issue? The problem seems to happen when one moves the Xbox 360 while a disc is being played. So, uh, don’t do that. Other than that, however, we don’t really know the scope of the problem. Microsft has previously stated that it was aware of a few isolated instances of various problems with the Xbox 360, but noted that the proportion of complaints were normal for a new console. At press time GameFly could not be reached for comment.

Source: http://www.gametab.com/news/453976/

Only link to the videogames may be Sam Fisher.

Don’t lie. You don’t understand the plots of the Splinter Cell games unless you keep a notebook handy and connect the dots while playing. If that’s you, more power to you, but the rest of us can probably breathe easy knowing the Splinter Cell movie will share one characteristic with the videogames and books: Sam Fisher.

Author Raymond Benson wrote the Splinter Cell novelization, with its own deviations from the videogames approved by Tom Clancy. Benson talked with The Fairer Sects and doesn’t anticipate the film to adapt any of the released videogames. "As far as I know, the screenplay is totally original and not based on any existing game or my book," he says.

Gamers don’t like it when Hollywood tampers with their cherished storylines. People flipped when they found out the DOOM film didn’t actually involve a portal from Hell.

Benson sympathizes, but from his work with James Bond, says fans need to chill out. "There will always be differences. I certainly experienced this with James Bond. The truly hardcore Bond fans have in their heads their own ideas of what Bond should be," he says. "…the truth is that Bond has become so many different things over the course of fifty years that no one concept of Bond is the "real" thing anymore."

Source: http://www.gametab.com/news/454005/

You probably haven’t heard of the movies, but it’s only $2.99!

Film studios have been looking for a way to capitalize on consumer’s desire to download movies onto their computer for years, but 29HD Network is one of the first out of the gate for creating a similar service designed for the PSP.

The 29MP4 Video Store launched on December 30, and features over a dozen films, documentaries and even music videos priced at a measly $2.99 each. The problem is that you’re probably never heard of. Did you even know actor Vince Vaugn (Wedding Crashers) was in a National Lampoon spin-off called Blackball? Probably not.

29HD’s Bob Caird headed up HBO’s launch of HBO and Cinemax as a paid satellite service for dish owners, and sees the online store as a chance to capitalize on the PSP market in the same way Apple has with their iPod and iTunes combo.

Thankfully, 29HD Network says they’re already signing more details and promises more than 200 movies by the middle of next year. The press release makes no mention of potential deals with the heavy-hitter movie studios, though, so don’t expect Spider-Man to become available – especially at a price like $2.99.

Source: http://www.gametab.com/news/454061/