College Gamers

Madden 09 Wii

2009-09-07T11:22:00.004-04:00

Ok so here is the deal, this game is the third in a series of madden wii games that are almost exactly the same. Now I do understand that Madden changes very little from year to year but playing the wii version makes the game feel even more stale. The visuals are of course very uninspiring, but I can see what EA is doing with trying to go for a different style to compensate for the wii's shortfalls in the graphics department. Sure the controls are fun when you are playing for the first time, they can make you feel immersed in the game, but they really aren't all that realistic and sometimes really hinder the game. Especially when you try to throw to one receiver and the QB ends up throwing to another guy and it gets intercepted.

The game does have great modes like franchise, Superstar, and the surprisingly fun 5 on 5 mode. The game also has online play, but the games are usually so slow that none of your motions match what the players do leading to a very frustrating experience. There is also an error in the game in practice mode, if you are on defense and intercept a pass the game goes to the celebration mode (which also gets to be really boring) and then freezes. This error is especially bad in superstar mode when you have a defensive player and you just want to practice with your team, The game freezes and you lose whatever you didn't save. Don't get me wrong I still play this game all the time, but it has quite a number of problems, if you have a wii and you like football you're almost forced to get it

God of War I and II will be Gods once more.

2009-08-31T12:02:00.004-04:00

With the highly anticipated God of War III coming out next year, why not make something for the fan's? Sony announced that this holiday season, God of War I&II, two of the highest rated and acknowledged Ps2 games, will be coming to PS3 on a single blu-ray disc.

This isn't just a port either. These versions will have smoother graphics running at 720p and will be running at a steady 60fps. While these features are awesome to hear, it gets better. The compilation is gonna cost around $40 bucks which is great news! While I own the first GoW, I never actually completed it. I might pick this up, considering the price point and what it's offering.

MLB 2K9 Wii

2009-08-29T12:04:00.002-04:00

Let me just say a few words about MLB 2K9 for Wii: huge disappointment. I bought this game when it was released because I wanted to have a real baseball game for the wii. Boy was I in for a big surprise when I put it in the system. It started out for me with the graphics, while I wasn't expecting much I at least thought the players would look somewhat human. For example, there is no distinguishing line between uniforms, the player and the player's hair.

The controls meanwhile are just disgusting, sure it is fun to throw the ball and swing it, but the motions by far do not match your own leading to an overall frustrating experience. Im sure you could find some things that are fun, especially sine this game offers a few more modes than the bigs, without the cartoony graphics of Power Pros but in terms of bang for your buck this game is a truck load of crap. If you didn't get the subtle hints I suggest not getting this game, but if you do don't expect too much from this port that looks like little time was spent making it.

'Splosion Man Review

2009-08-25T15:04:00.000-04:00

You love those first few Sonic games that were fast and not at all bloated? You love explosions (Who am I kidding, of course you do)? Well both of those are what you get when you play XBLA's 'Splosion Man.

'Splosion Man doesn't really have a story. Basically you are a science experiment that gets loose and have the ability to explode (hence the name) on command. Game play is one of the freshest anyone has seen in a long time. It is a 2-D platformer but has an interesting twist. To get higher, you don't jump, you explode. You can explode 3 times before you have to recharge. Recharging usual is done by landing and waiting but sometimes you will find explosive barrels or fire shooting out of a wall that will help you recharge without landing thus making you fly through levels.

Now this sounds good but where this game shines is in level design. Some levels are meant for you to run through really fast while others are puzzle like where you have to eliminate scientists to get to other areas. What is also icing on the cake is... well cake. Every level has a cake in it that is usual in a weird spot but some you have to get to fast before scientists lock off the area. Although these cakes are not needed to beat the level, they do add a nice bonus to your end of level score. The game has 50 single player levels, 47 have cakes leaving the other 3 levels bosses. There is also another set of 47 cakes that can be collected in CO-OP mode with up to 4 players but I haven't played that yet.

Now just these here makes this game worth buying, but there are still 2 more things. First is how “Splosion Man” has personality. Sometimes where you are running he will spread his arms out and start acting like an airplane while making engine sounds and other times he will act like monkey and make those sounds to. When waiting for platforms, he may take out balls and start juggling and other times he will just start making random quotes. One of my favorites he says is “Get to the Chopper.” The final thing is that every level has a score based on things destroyed, cake collected, and time which is them compared with everyone on the Leader Boards. This makes this game have a lot of replay value.

Bottom line is that this game costs $10 and for what you get is actually about $25 at least of content. There is no reason for any platform lover not to get this game as long as you have the XBOX 360.

Policenauts have landed...well the English translatation has anyways...

2009-08-24T17:18:00.002-04:00

Hideo Kojima is best known for his work on Metal Gear Solid. While the Metal Gear series is great, it's somewhat of a shame that it overshadows most of the games that has Hideos name plastered on it. Hideo Kojima was also responsible in creating games such as Zone of the Enders, Snatcher and new (WIP) Castlevania. However one game that never made it out of Japan was Polienauts. Policenauts is suppose to be a great game and a "spiritual successor" to Snatcher. While the game never made it overseas "offically" that didn't stop fans from trying to translate the entire game.

As of yesterday, http://policenauts.net, finally completed their full english text translation of the game. To play it, you'll be required to rip an iso of the original 2 CD's and throw the ISO's into into their patcher. Easy no? It's a shame that the game costs $50.00 almost everywhere you look for it. I won't be suprised if people try doing evil deeds to get it. (i.e pirating)

Either way im definitely gonna grab a copy of this game off ebay. Afterall it must be good if people can create so much hype over a game that didn't release anywhere else except Japan.

Vitality Sensor Probably Won't Calm You Down

2009-08-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

Ever since the Wii Vitality Sensor was announced, people have been wondering what it was used for. Nintendo finally gave us more information on what it is for and it still makes no sense.

In a Q&A with Nintendo about a week back, Satoru Iwata talked about the Wii Vitality Sensor as being used to calm people down. You would put your finger in the sensor and it would help you determine when your anxisous or stressed and play music and video that would help calm you down. It would also help calm you down if you are having trouble sleeping and figure out when you will be anxious for the weekend.

Game? No this is no game. The entire explanation of this device really sounds like a combination of hypnotist, therapists, and doctor or even simpler, a nice hour of just listening to music. This seems really pointless to the average person. “When I'm stressed out, I'm going to turn on a gaming system and just sit there and do nothing” does not seem like a very appealing response. The Vitality Sensor seems like a horrible idea and this adds more to the impression that Nintendo didn't build a gaming system but an all around “life style” box that sits near your TV. Great Marketing Nintendo.

Star wars: The force unleashed Wii

2009-08-20T13:44:00.004-04:00

This is one of those cases of don't believe everything you hear. This game is genuinely fun to play and it has a great story. The game looks like it could be a movie and seeing as Hayden Christenson is not in this, it is a step up from episodes one and two. The story takes place some time after episode 3 when Darth Vader takes a secret apprentice in hopes of taking down the emperor. The story takes many unexpected turns that set the stage for episode 4 and will make any star wars fan cream themselves in excitement.

The story is only strengthened by the entertaining gameplay supplied by the wii's motion controls. I mean really who wouldn't be entertained by waving their wii controller like a light saber and seeing the character respond. There are other powers that you unlock throughout the game that make you more powerful and the game more enjoyable. The addition of hidden collectable and customizable makes for fair replay value, but I think that you would want to replay this game just because it is awesome. The game also includes a multiplayer lightsaber duel which I have not had the chance to play but I suspect this mode only adds to the fun

The graphics suck

That is all

Problems with the XBOX360 Elite

2009-08-19T12:22:00.002-04:00

With the XBOX360 Pro being phased out and the Elite dropping $100 in price, how could there be any negative in this move?

Well many Gamestops are reporting that the new “Elite” package will not include an HDMI cable, and a few of those stores are also saying there will be no Component cables in the package. Just a crappy bunch of Composite cables will in your purchase.

This is an awful move on Microsoft's part. One great reason to buy the Elite in the first place is because it came with the HDMI cable. Even though you can buy an HDMI cable online for about $10, its the fact that the cable came with it and that you didn't have to go out of your way to buy another one, and in most cases wait for it to be shipped.

Also with the rumor that there will not be any Component cable either, this means that you will only be able to play your XBOX360 at 480i out of the box. Not to mention that the Component cables are extremely proprietary, the only place you really would be able to get them new is from Microsoft themself. Buying them straight from the source is probably going to be expensive, and some people only have Component cables on their TV and not HDMI, which means in some cases it will actually be more expensive to play on a lesser definition. It's basically like charging you for owning a TV that is higher than SD.

Although the new Elite will be only $300, the only differences from this and the old “Pro” are that the Elite comes with 120gb hard drive instead of a 60gb one and that the Pro came with Component cables. This seems like a downgrade considering how cheap hard drives are nowadays. This doesn't seem like a smart move for Microsoft considering how much they have been pushing HD content.

Sony finally unveils The Slim along with a slew of Awesome

2009-08-18T16:55:00.004-04:00

Sony came to Gamescon and unveiled the highly anticipated Playstation 3 Slim with 120gb hdd along with a nifty $300 price tag. Sony said that it is lighter, smaller and less power hungry than current models, it is also losing it's ties with the ability to install another OS on the system, which isn't exactly a huge lose considering the support for it doesn't seem to be there. Sony said that it will be released in September.

Sony also announced 3.00 firmware for the PS3. The firmware is going to give the XMB a much need facelift along with a few new thing's like dynamic themes, which gives new life to the already simple menu system.

In PSP news, Marvel is teaming up with Sony to release comics for the PSP, which is a perfect media for the system. It's also getting "Minis". Mini's are games under 100mb and will most likely be priced under $10 bucks.

It appears that Sony is creating a price friendly environment now which is something it has needed. Sony is gonna need to play some much needed catch up.

Price Cuts Aren't Coming to Nintendo

2009-08-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Nintendo can be a persistent bunch when it comes to marketing and pricing of the Wii. First they praise it for its innovation, which it definitely has. They price it below all competitors at launch. They have been rumored as to holding back production and not meeting demand to make its appeal higher and harder to get while maintaining it success over time and not dying in one hit. They announce that it now takes $50 less to make. The final straw was when they announced no price cut and they will keep the price at $250.

What is wrong with this?

-Nintendo is almost 3 years into the Wii life cycle and hasn't had a price cut. All the other ones have had at least 1, sometimes 2.

-Next is that Nintendo is the only one making profit on every one of their consoles sold. They started out making around $4-$6 on every console and now that it costs less to make so they're getting about $55 on every console. The other companies had to sell a lot more to make a profit and Sony has made nothing selling consoles. Nintendo doesn't have a loss to make up so there is no reason to keep the price the same.

-For most people, the Wii was something to play every now and then, mostly at someones house, and was really and impulse buy to those who don't game a lot. With the Wii being out for almost 3 years now, the market is almost saturated for people who are going to pay $250 for something they won't use all the time. Also with the economy they way it is, people are less likely to buy something that $250 that they can buy at a friends house.

-Information about Sony's PS3 got leaked this weak stating that it only costs them around $240 to make a PS3. With the power in that, Nintendo should have no problem making their system for between $100-$125.

With all these reasons, there is no excuse for Nintendo to not drop the price. I think it would be beneficial for Nintendo to drop the price to $200 or even better, $150, to sell more Wii's. Nintendo really started the idea of selling the console at a loss and make money on the games with the NES and this seems to be the exact opposite of what they used to do. Selling the console at a loss makes more people buy them because the price will be really cheap and then they will be enticed to buy games, which is where Nintendo should make their money.

Monster Hunter Tri (3) finally coming to US and EU!

2009-08-03T14:05:00.003-04:00

Well it's about time we got a date. Early 2010, Wii owners will get a piece of Campcom's Monster Hunter. While I am still kinda disappointed with the Capcom's decision to make the game on the Wii rather than the PS3, I have to say Monster Hunter Tri look's like it's pumping some of the best graphics the Wii has to offer which is a good thing (is reminded of crappy shovel-ware >_<)

This game is probably the next big title the Wii owners can start looking foreword and is enough of a reason for me to finally get a Wii. I want to use my longsword!

Are Video Game Movie Adaptions Going Too Far?

2009-07-29T22:42:00.007-04:00

There have been a number of movie adaptions from video games over the years. Two come to mind quickly, the Resident Evil Trilogy and the infamous Super Mario Bros. Movie. But lately there seems to be a lot of movies in production.

A couple years ago there was a rumored Halo movie in production but because of disputes between the director and the movie company, that never happened. Last week it was announced that a anime-ish style of Halo was in production, being directed by the same person who was apart of Ghost In A Shell, and a trailer of the upcoming adaption to prove it. Then there is the announcement that the Bioshock movie got put on hold, possible due to funding. Remember Astroids, that arcade game in which you have a 5 pixel ship shooting 10 pixel amoeba-looking things that break when you hit them? Well thats a getting a movie deal, too. Don't ask me how, that is beyond me because it seems like everyone wants a quick buck these days.

I personal think the only video game series that should get a movie deal is the Half-life series because it has a great story, great cast of characters, and some intense scenes. Even though I think it's the only one that should get a movie, I don't want it to happen because video games or a more interactive than movies and making something interactive to something you watch is taking it a step down. Plus I pride myself knowing a video game with more depth in the storyline and action than most movies have had in decades.

But I honestly don't know whats worse, movies being made from video games or video games being made from movies. I think everyone can agree that every Harry Potter video game has less excitement than a fat kid sitting on a couch sleeping with a bag of potato chips just resting on his chest.

Not to mention every video game that has come from a movie that wasn't even filled with action or a decent story line. I think the really problem is that video games have a larger cast of characters and more depth and dimensions than a movie and making a video game from them either becomes a pile of boring crap or to much work to fill in the gaps. Now the Matrix had it right. They created a video game, Enter The Matrix, that actually took place before, during, and after the Matrix Reloaded (the second one in the series). What made it more interesting is that the game followed characters who were less important in the movie but still entered at the right moment and playing through the game allowed you to see how they got at the spot just in time. The reason I'm covering video game adaptions from movies is because of the unbelievable news of the Twilight MMORPG. And if you don't believe me, click here. Not only is this probably the worst adaptions I have ever seen, but I think it's the wrong adaption. The people I know that love Twilight are either too young to even understand what a MMORPG is or they only use a computer to check email and Facebook. Although, there will be those exception I think the target audience won't find this as enjoyable as the developers will want it to be.

Netflix On Other Systems

2009-07-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

According to a Gamespot article, Netflix has hired a new person for the title of “Head of Gaming Platforms.” John Judge, the newly hired, was offered a job by Netflix and it is assumed he will be leading the project of getting Netflix onto the remaining two consoles. Based on his background, as being the co-founder of a company that went on to help develop the Wii Motion Plus and the Sony Motion Controller, Netflix wants him for his background.

But does Netflix really need to be on the other two platforms? It doesn't seem that there are enough people that own a PS3 that it would be worth at this point in time and the internet on the Wii is spotty at best. Not to mention that the type of person that spends most of there time in the front of the TV with all their media ready at hand is usual the XBOX 360. Although the PS3 has more media capabilities than the other two, people that own the PS3 don't seem the type to be spending all day in front of it.

New Ratchet and Clank Weapon

2009-07-27T11:03:00.005-04:00

While I never have played the Ratchet and Clank series for very long, (when I still mean to mind you), I have always been infatuated by the amount of ridiculous weaponry the guys at Insomniac have been able to cough up for the popular platforming franchise.

Insomniac at Comic Con felt that it was necessary to reveal one of the new weapons for their upcoming title, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time..

Is the Wii Losing This Generation?

2009-07-26T16:44:00.001-04:00

Chances are, you have played a Wii. Many people have played a Wii, many own one. That's exactly what Nintendo wants. The entire point of making the Wii was to get people who weren't interested in gaming, interested. And all although they made a lot money from this, it will be their downfall is they make changes.

The Wii was aimed at casual gamers, people who didn't play games a lot or ever. And while people bought Wii's and loved them, it still remains the fact that they are casual gamers. They don't play games a lot and this is what plagues the Wii. The most sold game for the Wii is WiiSports. The second is WiiPlay. Do you know why? WiiSports comes with the system and WiiPlay comes with a Wii Remote while also coming with nine mini-games in the same WiiSports style. Most people that own a Wii that are casual gamers won't get old of these games and won't buy anymore games because they don't play often. The Wii maybe the cheapest of the systems but it won't keep these casual gamers buying games week after week and the lack of quality games doesn't help Nintendo.

The End of Music Games?

2009-07-23T13:06:00.002-04:00

An article on Slashdot talks about how the music genre is on the decline. There are no music games in the top 20 sold games in the past two months. Also revenue for these games are down almost 50%.

I think the reason for this that the market was quickly saturated plus the quick start with the songs available. With so many songs available from the beginning, people were able to buy a lot of the songs they wanted to really quickly. With the amounts of songs available and the length of time these types of games have been, it's no wonder that the market is saturated and profits are dipping. There will always be that following of people who love these games, but with the lack of innovation on the developers parts, these games seem to have hit their high point and probably won't see anymore major growth.

2009-07-21T22:10:00.002-04:00

Possible Change in Valve's Business model Not Too Far in the Future?

Gabe Newall, Valve Founder, speaks about his past and how Valve became to be in this interview, but that's not all. Specifically towards the end of the interview he speaks about the development of games. He see's a future where the community/gamers pay the developers to make a game rather than just the publishers. This would mean if you like the idea/development of a game you would have the option of spending maybe like 30 bucks and "part" of the game is kinda yours in a sense. It's an interesting marketing theory and with the success with Valve's Steam and it's steady release of Indie games that you never have heard of, it doesn't seem to far fetched for Valve to attempt to try this business model. There are millions of gamers out there. All with their specific likes and taste, and the idea of feeding those likes and taste with "development money" just seems like a Win Win situation.

Is Violence Required

2009-07-17T09:09:00.004-04:00

A story running over at CNET is asking the question "Is Violence Required to Make a Good Video Game?" The person interviewed in the article said its not and no one has really tried to it. Also in the article is a link to a list of non-violent video games.

I agree with this article. Set aside puzzle games, like Tetris and Minsweeper, and music games, like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there aren't many games left let alone popular ones. Off the top of my head I can only think of Katamari and Rhythm Heaven.

Now some might be thinking about the Mario series, but then you have to take in question what violence is. If violence is only when blood shows, they Mario, Zelda, and a handful of other games are non-violent. But if it's any act that involves inflicting damage, then if include a lot more including Wii Sports for the Boxing aspect of it.

What do you think should be considered non-violent? Is violence nessecary for a good game?Send us an email at college.gamers.blog@gmail.com.

Brutal Legend

2009-07-16T12:55:00.004-04:00

This is not a game review of any kind, it is merely me raving about this game.

How many games do you know that have celebrities as voice actors, well this one has at least three: Jack Black (the main character) Ozzy and Dio. The plot of the story goes something like this; a modern day metalhead is transported to the land of metal where he finds that his guitar has special powers. He must use his guitar along with a special axe he finds to survive in this strange new world. Now this would normally be epic by itself, but with Jack Black as the main character it raises the game to new highs. the visuals are ripped straight from the covers of metal albums, and let me just say are of a quality that far surpasses many other games. This game should draw heavily from the metal crowd, but I think if people actually watch the trailer, they will be wowed as well. This game of course will not be on the Wii, and because that is my console of choice I can only stare in amazement at this epic game.

It is set to release on October 13th on the Xbox 360 and the PS3

Play Station May Not Price Drop

2009-07-16T00:02:00.001-04:00

Sony has pretty much now stated that there will be no price drop coming this year for the Play Station 3. So those of you who were happy to hear that they were, this doesn't seem like it's going to be a reality this time around.

This in itself has already hurt PS3 sales, and by no price drops, this is going to stay the same most likely. There is still the possibilty of it still happening, but I just wanted to let everyone know that there has been rumors and some verified accounts that Sony said this isn't happening.

Right now, you can buy PS3s for $399 + from direct sellers. The thing, however, is that you also have to take into consideration the GAMES are about $50 bucks each, which makes it difficult for people who want PS3s. A lot of people also just buy PS3s for their multimedia capabilities more than for game play (states someone on the Playstation forums).

Whether the PS3's price drops or not, the ratings still stand that the Play Station 3 is still in 3rd place in these "next gen systems" and they either need to so something drastic (like a price cut) or seriously come out with something worth buying this thing for if they're going to get any decent money out of it.

There is hope with the new PS3 Slim (supposedly coming out very soon, as I stated before) that the prices will drop and there will be new firmware for the system.

Only time will tell.

Scribblenauts is a Little More Disturbing Than We Think

2009-07-14T15:25:00.001-04:00

Scribblenauts is a game coming out in September with an interesting twist of originality. It's a puzzle game in which to solve the puzzle or get to a new part of the level, you use the Nintendo DS touch screen to write in a word, and it comes to life in the game. So if you type in "bike", a bike will be created in the level, you character can ride it, and it has all the real life physics we come to know and love. Now many people then thought of the amount of perverted things that could be done with the game, but the developers said they didn't include and curse words or anything selection.

Well that's not the only thing they missed. When the ESRB got their hands on this game to rate it, they found a few weird things which made them give it a "Everyone 10+" or "E10+." The main thing they said was that if you type in two words at the same time, they both appear and have similar properties of each other. THe example they used was they type in "baby" and "steak" and a baby holding a steak appeared. Then they type in lion and a lion appeared, walked over to the baby and steak, and ate both of them. Because of the act of "baby eating," they gave the rating one step above "E."

I understand why they gave the rating what it is, but do they have to make public the fact that you can have lions eat babies to the public? If this game is meant for everyone, then you have to be really screwed up in the head to even think about having a lion eat a steak baby, not to mention the fact that they idea of entering two items at once wasn't even made public in the first place. With people knowing you can entering two items at once with this outcome, this can lead to worse discoveries but we will have to wait to find out the rest of these.

iPhone Games Hits 13,000

2009-07-14T14:28:00.001-04:00

It's no mystery that the iPhone and iPod Touch Apps Store has exploded with games, something Apple didn't anticipate. But exactly how many are there? Most analysts believe there are over 13,000 games and one look on the App Store will not change your mind. It was also estimated that there were only 6,000 last March. That means there was over 7,000 gaming apps submitted within 3-4 months, and with the App Store just turning 1 year now, that means a lot of games are sure to come. But is it a good thing that there are this many games available?

One comparison to the amount of games on the iPhone is the same thing that happened on the Wii. The first couple of years, the Wii got a lot of "crap-ware" or games that were made just for a quick buck and had no real quality game play. Few games that were considered "crap-ware" at the time like Cooking Mama and Carnival Games manged to be diamonds in the rough, selling a lot and becoming popular. But the fact still stands that there are a lot of under developed games on the Wii and the same for the iPhone. One reason that I believe the "crap-ware" will stay on the iPhone App Store for a longer period of time is because anyone can download the tools to create an iPhone game, it's very low risk, and it only costs $100 for a year to become a developer. Basically the $100 means you can put as many games as you want on the App Store for a year. Compared to other gaming platforms, $100 a year is nothing. The other problem with the crap-ware on the iPhone is that people can make their game free, which means it doesn't matter if it sells good or bad, they will continue to make games because they aren't interested in money.

What is good is that it's easier to find reviews about the iPhone games than other platform's download content. With the amount of sites that have a special section for only iPhone Games and that iTunes uses the same commenting system on games they do on songs will help people find the better games out there.

People Moving Away from Consoles

2009-07-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

ComScore has released gaming numbers of recent months and they are staggering. The first report shows that online gaming is up 22% year over year from May 2008 to May 2009. The other number is that console revenue is down 23%. It's also estimated that for the second quarter of 2009, console game sales, will be down by 20%. Is this a coincidence?

What these numbers say is that people are moving away from consoles to PCs for online gaming. It's no surprise because the online game play and setup on PC is further along than consoles are. The other thing is that many people who own a console also own a computer and more people own a computer than a console. Both give reason as to why the amount of gaming is decreasing on consoles and online play is up. It all has to do with money. People don't want to buy a console if they have a computer to start gaming. The other thing is that Steam has a great selection of games, they have deals on popular games about once a week, and it's online system just works. These number not only show the usability of a PC but how companies have a lot more freedom on PCs when it comes to prices and implimentation with others.

Gundam lands (perfectly) on Japan's Home Central Plaza

2009-07-13T22:51:00.007-04:00

With Japan's ultra popular Gundam Franchise turning 30, what better way to celebrate than to build a 1:1 scale replica of one of the originals? Lets just say Japan is very dedicated to this kind of thing.

Apparently it doesn't stop there either, Bandai Namco has to make sure EVERY Japanese citizen is aware that Gundam is turning 30. That's why they also through a giant Gundam in the middle of Japan's Playstation Home. That's right, Japan's central plaza in PS Home now comes with a temporary giant Gundam model that just stands their looking pretty while it gives fanboys boners from the comfort of their own homes.

Having a Gundam fetish, a Japanese PSN account and access to Japans Playstation Home, I visited Japans Home and fell into awe. While the only interaction with the Gundam is standing next to it, dancing next to it, and running around/under it, you can also access a camera mode that allows you to move it around the Gundam. The camera allows you to get nice and close to look at the super fine details which is really cool because the detail on the model is phenomenal.

If I had to complain about something it's probably the lack of a picture taking option. While this is usually the last thing you would think Home needs, for something as cool as a limited time giant robot, you would think being able to take pictures would be an option. While personally I would rather see a real 1:1 Gundam in Japan or maybe even a functional Gundam's I can settle with this Home version. I definitely recommend checking it out if you can, it's just really cool!

Game review: MadWorld

2009-07-09T10:49:00.005-04:00

Madworld....let me first start this by saying that it is fun to a point. That point ends as soon as you pass the first few hours and the mass of bloodshed that you once found extremely entertaining becomes bland. There is is at least enough in this game to keep you interested, the commentators bring in a kind of fun chatter to this bloodbath

The story is a little uninspiring, something I'm sure can be thought up with not too much planning. The masses of bloodshed in this game are quite enough for any kid in their early teens, and this game is so ridiculous that it seems as if it is aimed toward that audience with the exception that it is a mature title. I don't know too many people over 18 that would get extremely excited over this and I am not one of them

The black and white style used in this game was a nice touch and contributes a nice contrast with all the blood spurting out of the enemies. Speaking of enemies there is no challenge there except for the occasional bigger baddie that they throw at you and of course the bosses which take a surprising amount of skill to defeat

The gameplay is interesting, and i suppose there is something therapeutic about ripping people apart with chainsaws and whatnot. And finding new ways to kill enemies is fun, but the gameplay does not have staying power. You may find yourself getting bored and just using the chainsaw or the same exact tire sign spike combo that you are shown at the beginning of the game

Overall this is an ok game, far from the blockbuster "mature" game for the wii. I believe it is worth a try, but by no means is it worth the full asking price