Mass Effect 3 isn’t the first game to do it (not by a long shot), but one of the more interesting features it will have is the ability to import your character save file from prior Mass Effect games. This means that, for players who have journeyed through space with Commander Shephard, they will be able to see the consequences and benefits of actions in prior games. To many, this will probably give the feeling of a sense of ownership over the decisions they made (and continue to make).  You can really start to feel like you are part of the universe that is created when you know your actions will have consequences.  You understand the worlds, the characters, the situations.  You get the inside jokes. You know how your crew behaves.

But what about for people who haven’t played any of the prior games? Are you missing out by not playing previous entries in a series? Does playing Halo 3 before Halo make it less of a game? Saints Row: The Third? Gears of War 3?  It made me wonder:

If previous games of a series that you haven’t had an interest in (until the latest version) are available on your current console, what do you play first? 

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

For the sake of argument, assume that the story in this series progresses from one game to the next. I’ll be honest; I got Gears of War 3 for Christmas this year, and before I even bothered opening it, I replayed the first, and played (for the first time) the second one.  I didn’t want to feel like I was missing out on something by not knowing the full backstory.  Yeah, most games today will feature primers, or do a good job through exposition to get you caught up on what’s happening, but can that 15 minutes really make up for the hours spent beating a game.  Putting your personal time and energy into the story makes the next iteration mean that much more to you.  So I guess I would say that I’d play the games in order of what’s available, rather than the latest. But then I think about a game like Assassin’s Creed. The series is incredible, and while I feel the first game lays some pretty serious groundwork for the other games in the series, it’s also the worst of the bunch by far. Most would say skip it (or play a small bit and then skip it).

Give us your take – vote above, and drop a comment below.

View previous ASQ: Staying Alive

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

We have a unique review today; I’ll be reviewing some PC hardware, something that I haven’t been able to do in years (Mac guy). Today I’m going to be talking about and reviewing the Antec High Current Gamer 520W power supply unit. If you want to see several pictures of it, check out the unboxing post I did early today.

The unit itself is actually a nice unit. For those of you that have messed around with power supplies, you know how simple these are to install but how much of a problem they are if you don’t have one that is strong enough. The install was simple, 4 screws, just like every other PSU out there. The next part of the install was obvious, hooking everything up to it. The HCG-520M has one of the less clutter/cable management types of system where all the cables detach from the PSU itself so you only have to use what you need. This type of system here is really what you want because you only have cables in your case that you need. It takes any excess out which then helps with opening things up for a better air flow inside your PC, and let us not forget just how much better it also looks. You don’t really want a rat nest inside your case. I did have a small problem with the cable management system though, but that’s really because it’s only a 520W unit, it only comes with one set of the PCI-E cables. Most likely you won’t need more than this, especially if you only need 520W’s, but it would have been nice for one more.

After the install I fired up my personal gaming PC; you can see its specs here (I have a few other things installed as well, like another HDD, USB hubs, and several USB powered devices). It stared up without problems. I wasn’t quite sure if the HCG-520M would have enough power to keep everything going but I had 0 hiccups. Alright, now that that’s done, how about if I overclock it a little bit. Again, not a problem. So I figured I’d put max my PC out with some benchmark tests, surely this would really draw some major watts. And yet again, not an issue, nothing. The PSU itself was cool to the touch. Not bad, not bad at all.

Antec’s HCG-520M really surprised me. I really didn’t think it would have enough juice it in to power everything under a long load. What sucks even more is that I spent around $140 on my Corsair CMPSU-750HX which I love but I could have went ahead and picked up the HCG-520M for about $50 cheaper as Energy sells it for $90.

Steve’s Final Thoughts: The Antec HCG-520M is a really nice PSU that’s made for the budget gaming PC. It’s affordable, and yet, has all the perks of the more expensive PSU: high continuous power (520W), a really nice cable management system, and the Antec name backing it. If you’re in the market for a budget PSU, you’ll be lucky to get such a great bang for your buck then what the HCG-520M is offering.

Here’s all of the official specs:

• 520 watts of Continuous Power
• 80 PLUS® Bronze certified — up to 87% efficient
• High Current Hybrid Cable Management — special 10-pin and 5-pin modular connectors for High Current rail
• Quiet 135 mm Double Ball Bearing cooling fan
• Stealth Wires: all wires darkened for minimal visibility in chassis
• All Japanese brand capacitors for reliability
• Thermal Manager: an advanced low voltage fan control for optimal heat & noise management
• Up to 90% power available on +12V rail
• ATX12V version 2.32 and EPS12V version 2.92 compliant
• Heavy-duty protection circuitry on all rails prevents damage from a variety of dangers:
• AQ5 — Antec Quality 5 year limited warranty on parts and labor
• MTBF: 100,000 hrs

Side Note: If you’re in the market for a CPU cooler, check out Antec’s KÜHLER H₂O 620. I bought that for my PC when I built to keep my Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core cool. Even with me overclocking my i5-2500k, it’s cooler then it running normal with the stock cooler. The other two great things about the KÜHLER H₂O 620 is its price because you can get it for only about $55, and the fact that it’s zero maintenance. You install it, it works, nothing else to do with its liquid cooling system. Ever.

Here are a bunch of pictures I took of Antec’s High Current Gamer M, 520W power supply. You can read all about the specs of it here. There will be a review out on Platform Nation later on today with my thoughts on it. I’ll even see if it can handle my beast of a PC! Hope you enjoy the pictures and very soon the review will be up.

It’s not easy to be a video game company today. It seems like a studio is closing its doors every week; doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, no one is safe. With the budgets that are needed to create top-tier games growing every year, it becomes an even greater risk when these games don’t sell as well as hoped. Look no further than THQ, who is reeling from a lackluster holiday performance (personally, I loved Saints Row The Third, but I guess not enough people did). So if a game company is going to have to survive, they might have to make choices about what features they choose to support. Considering the development time and cost needed to create a unified single player and multiplayer experience, I would not be at all surprised to see games that traditionally featured robust options in both now start to favor one over the other. The question is:

If the developers of a game you were looking forward to buying had to cut features, would you rather have a more robust single player experience, or more multiplayer options?

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

Keep in mind that I’m asking you what you prefer, not what is more likely to happen. My knee-jerk reaction to this would be to say multiplayer; I would like to think that I am always online playing with my friends in whatever game we all have. But in reality, I have been heavily reliant on quality single player games as of late.  The last real multiplayer game I’ve played was Black Ops (not counting Rock Band, which I do with co-workers monthly, and a dabbling of Assassin’s Creed Revelations, which none of my friends had anyway). So in considering what my playing habits actually are, I think I’d like to see more single-player variety if a company had to make a choice. Besides, with the way things are going with online codes being needed for multiplayer access, having a quality single-player experience ensures I’m getting my money’s worth no matter how I purchase my game.

What do you think? Vote above, and drop some comments below!

View previous ASQ: Difficulty Settings - View next ASQ: Sequel Before Prequel

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

Gina Carano’s fighting experience, coupled with Soderbergh’s direction, creates a visceral string of fight scenes that would be right at home besides any Hong Kong Kung Fu flick or any of the Bourne movies. On  top of that, you’re also treated to a sound-scape that seems like it’s made up of actual fight sounds rather than the over produced folly work that you’ve heard in dozens of movies before this. Even the objects in the environment that are used as weapons don’t seem like props make to break on impact but are actual real world items that act the way they should. One of Haywire’s greatest achievements is creating a world that may play host to over the top action but is governed by a gritty realism seldom seen in other movies in the spy action genre.

Unfortunately, the high points of the action put the rest of the movie in stark contrast; as a predictable story and nonsensical plot points bog down what could be a fantastic spy Action Spy movie. Haywire has a talented cast of actors that includes; Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, and Antonio Banderas, yet poor editing and writing ruin whatever traction their performances may gain. As much as I love Gina Carano’s intensity as an action star, the movie relies on her acting ability to carry the movie but there is very little life to be found in her performance outside of the action.

Rich’s Recommended Viewing: Opening Weekend – At The Theater – Rent It – Watch It On Cable –Stay Away! – 3/5

While 3 out of 5 may seem like a harsh review score, I can confidently say Haywire’s action is worth catching while it’s still in the theaters. It is a big dumb action movie that’s anchored by the strength of Gina Carano’s chemistry as an action star and I’m sure with time her performances will get stronger with each new project the studios are smart enough to throw her way.

Store – Your first reaction to a Steam app was probably “Oh great, another way to spend all my money”. And that sounds about right. The Steam app gives you instant access to the full catalogue available on the Steam Store, and with a couple of clicks you can purchase any game for download on your main computer. This part of the app let’s you categorise the store by featured, new, and (the best one) Deals. At the moment there aren’t any great deals, but I can imagine next time Steam has a huge sale, if I can’t get to a PC then this app will be a great help in getting a great deal. The purchasing of games within the app is seamless, but is missing certain purchasing methods (PayPal) and only accepts credit card at the moment. Another  feature that revolves around the Store is the Wishlist which is also available to view, amend and add games to on the go. And of course a cart and a search section to find your way around the store.

Friends – The second most important thing about Steam is the social interaction with your friends and the Steam app facilitates that with a full social section allowing you to view what your friends have played, what your friends are playing at the moment, the recent achievements that your friends have unlocked and if they have bought or added a game to their Wishlist. There is also an excellent chat function included. The chat feature allows you to chat to your friends just like you do on the PC. Whether you are spamming a friend or having an in-depth conversation, you can do all this on the go. In addition to the friends list you can also see what groups you are in, and the members and updates within those groups too.

Other – If you like to check the news, then Steam News and Syndicated News sections are on the app giving you instant access to lots of gaming news. The option to view Screenshots and Videos within the app is definitely in BETA at the moment; it doesn’t really work or look too great.

If you use Steam, and own a mobile device, there is no question that you should download this app. Whether you are a huge PC gamer and buy multiple Steam games a day, or just like to jump online to see what your friends are up to, it’s worth a quick download. It’s available on Android and iOS in BETA at the moment, and you can download it here.

In the early days of graphical computer games, adventure games reigned supreme.  Led by companies like Sierra, gamers were allowed to explore worlds using their keyboard to type commands like Open Door, Push Rock, or Ifnkovhgroghprm.  These graphical adventure games eventually started utilizing a new device called a mouse (yes, there was a time when computers were mouseless), and doing away with the keyboard entirely.  Metal Dead picks up the genre at this time, and is a mouse-driven graphical adventure game that would be right at home in the mid to late 1980s.  Metal Dead is not afraid to pay homage to their predecessors either, and many of the best jokes in the game are derived from material from other games and movies.

There’s not much I can say about the story that won’t take away from why you’d buy the game, so I’ll keep it simple.  Zombies are attacking, and you need to find out why.  Most of the story takes place in a medical facility, and you and your heavy metal rock buddy tackle the mystery one floor at a time.  Literally; the progression is broken up by restricting access to the various floors until you’ve performed various tasks via the point and click interface.  Fortunately, the icon you move around highlights when hovering over an item that can be interacted with (though most are merely for substance, very few actually progress the story).  Descriptive and often witty feedback is given, depending on what you try to do to these various objects, and was one of the charming things about these types of games that I’m glad was captured in Metal Dead.

Your character can carry a bit of inventory (that is often used with objects in the environment to progress, and sometimes can be combined with other inventory items), but most of your interaction will be via the hand or mouth icon to do or speak to things respectively.  You’ll have access to an in-game hint system as well, which is very well done.  There is also the option to save and load your game, but if you’ve got 3 hours to kill, you won’t need it (I never died while playing, and only saved once when I had to leave the game).  Information is delivered solely through on-screen text, and there is a decent (but oft repeating) MIDI soundtrack that plays throughout.

One of the most charming aspects of graphical adventure games was the subtle ways that the developers injected humor into the game, and Metal Dead does a great job of leveraging that humor in often ridiculous ways. The humor stays pretty consistent (read: good) throughout the game (you’ll probably need a diverse gaming background to pick up all the references).  As I mentioned earlier, the hint system is well done, and is also rather witty.  The interface feels spot-on with the classics, and never gets in your way of enjoying the game.  The graphics, while simplistic, are effective in delivering the content in a particular style, and there are some advanced effects utilized occasionally.  The dialog is very well written for the most part (a little lengthy at times), and is very entertaining.

Of course, the limitations of these types of games are present as well.  For one, there is a fair amount of backtracking done in the game.  While the various floors of the building aren’t exactly robust (there’s usually 2-3 rooms per floor), it can be a mental chore when you realize that the item you just got needs to be used in a place near the beginning, and then brought back to where you currently are.  The dialog, while excellently written, is painfully delivered in an all-text format with a font that is just non-standard enough to frustrate the reader a bit (and some of the colors are difficult to read).  The game is very wordy with everything from minor interactions to major dialog, and the limitations of the visual text mean that you’ll be sitting through extensive text reading sessions (or clicking a ton to advance the story along).  Classic games of this genre got around this limitation by using text boxes that could display entire paragraphs at once; such a feature would have been useful in this game.  The game is pretty short if you’ve played these types of games before; I completed it in a little under 3 hours, but I did miss 4 achievements (there are 13 total) in my playthrough, so I clearly didn’t see everything there was in the game.  Finally, there wasn’t enough variety in what you did; there were very few actual puzzles in the game.  Most of the time is spent trying to figure out what item in your inventory is going to advance you to the next part of the game.  There are no consequences for dialog choices, and as a result you find yourself just floating along with the story, rather than being actively engaged with it.  Let me click into a horde of zombies and die.  Don’t worry, I’ll keep playing!

Tym’s take: Metal Dead does a lot of things right with delivering a classic graphical adventure game.  For those with an itch to relive the glory days of gaming (albeit on a smaller scale), you’d be wise to pick this up.  The funny, well written story is worth going through; I just wish the way it was presented was different. At $5, I have a hard time saying you won’t get a decent return on investment, as long as you understand the limitations that this type of game brings with it.  It’s missing just enough features to prevent me from recommending it to everyone, but seeing as this is the first of a series of these types of games from Walk Thru Walls, I think they’re on the right track.

+ Funny dialog and interactive elements that pay homage to the genre

+ Efficient interface

- Excessive dialog is difficult to follow due to the way it is presented

- Short game that is somewhat artificially extended with backtracking

- Lack of puzzle variety

Final Score: 5/10

The origins of Scarygirl began with a line of stories and illustrations by Nathan Jurevicius and it is on its way to a wider audience with help from Square Enix with Tik Games’ new downloadable game. Scarygirl is a platformer that brings Jurevicius’ lush cartoon world to life with graphics that are vivid and work as a fantastic backdrop to the game. Couple that with the large cast of characters that Jurevicius created with and you have a fully realized world that is a joy to explore.

Scarygirl plays is a lot like other action platformers out there but its art-style is what that sets Scarygirl apart from the competition. The game is split up into 7 worlds with about 3 separate levels for each one that houses a variety of environments and enemies to overcome. Between the levels you’re treated to barebones story beats that are sometimes animated using Nathan’s artwork. Each of the enemies has its own movement pattern that mixes up the gameplay as well as unique attacks that are tricky to avoid and counter. Along with regular enemies, Scarygirl also has screen filling bosses that are challenging and frustrating all at once.

To fight off the menagerie of baddies, Scarygirl is equipped with her octopus arm that acts like a whip as well as a way to extend jumps through gliding as you twirl it like a propeller. You’re also given a rage based frenzy attack that the player can activate once their meter is filled. You’ll also able to upgrade your attacks by utilizing the stores which are strewn throughout the worlds. Along with upgrading your attacks you’ll also be able to unlock new combos that use that combine light and heavy attacks to create brand new attack patterns to utilize against the bad guys.

One major plus for Scarygirl is just how fun it is to explore the world that Nathan Jurevicius and Tik Games worked together to create.  Add to that, the ability to share in co-op sessions with friends through local drop in/drop out multiplayer, and you have a fun little experience for only $10. Playing through the game also offers a challenging adventure that can reward players that have the patience with an experience that constantly strives to keep players on their toes through its ever-changing gameplay.

That difficulty is one of Scarygirl’s greatest strengths but it can also be one of its biggest weaknesses as the difficulty curve can ramp up suddenly and be quite unforgiving. I’m fine with taking up a challenge but Scarygirl’s controls can sometimes be unresponsive and be the major source of the game’s difficulty. I found myself repeatedly dying due to situations that were created by that unresponsiveness and it took every fiber of my gaming being to get me back on that controller and try again. Add to that, the poor checkpoint system, and you have a game that will consistently have you back tracking through areas you’ve already gone through in an effort to avoid a cheap attack that occurred seconds prior.

I can honestly say that I started off really liking Scarygirl, but that like quickly led to a frustrating love/hate relationship that was difficult to maintain. Without a doubt, Scarygirl is oozing with cuteness, ingenuity, and gorgeous art but its difficulty and unresponsive controls are a blemish on what is a beautiful foundation. Scarygirl definitely provides an experience that can be enjoyable if you give it a chance but make sure you’re prepared for a challenge before taking a dive into this game’s waters.

+Adorable art style
+Huge variety of enemies and environments
-Unresponsive controls
-Awkward difficulty curve

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Instead of taking what we think you would want to hear and jotting it down from the Darksiders II: Death Live Community Roundtable we have we have decided to add the audio for you. So sit back and enjoy while the community asks David Adams Studio General Manager, Ryan Stefanelli Producer and Hayden Dalton Principal Designer all from Vigil Games some questions regarding their upcoming game Darksiders II: Death Lives. The audio is a little garbled in the beginning, and that is due to all the buzz surrounding the game and the quality will pick up after a few minutes

Stay tuned to Platform Nation for more news as we receive it for Darksiders II: Death Lives.

Title: Mega Man Vol. 1: Let The Games Begin
Publisher: Archie Comics
Writer: Ian Flynn
Artist: Patrick Spaziante
Inkers: Patrick Spaziante, Rick Bryant, Gary Martin
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: John Workman
Release Date: 9/7/2011
Price: $11.95

The super fighting robot Mega Man is back in a brand new, American-produced, comic series. While the Blue Bomber may have thrived in various Japanese stories and animated series, he’s largely been absent from the American scene when it comes to greater fleshing out of the character. Given how Capcom’s almost turned their back on the hero when it comes to games (not included directly in Marvel VS. Capcom 3, the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe), the launch of a successful comic book series comes as a surprise. Given that Archie, and in recent years, writer Ian Flynn have continued to make a certain other blue video game character a long-running facet of comic book stores, does the opening arc of Mega Man prove his worth in the distant year of 200X?

Begin Spoilers

For long-time readers of Sonic the Hedgehog, artist Patrick Spaziante stands out; he’s done some of the most action-packed issues early in the run (look at Mecha Madness, with a Sonic-turned-evil laying waste to his home) to regular covers later on, “Spaz”‘s style has largely stood out above the others who might just draw a “talking animals book”. Good art is not a sign of a good book, as many issues with an incredible cover might actually belay a horrid plot inside; the only thing that stands out from the Sonic/Image Universe crossover is a sketch Spaz did of The Maxx and Amy Rose.

Thankfully, Flynn continues to prove his prowess. It’d be all too easy to go one way or another with Mega Man; the book could be too happy and cheerful, as the wide-eyed sprites might lead one to believe, or it could be dark and ominous, what with the concepts of free will and programming inherent in the franchise, especially down the road. The best path taken, and the one Flynn seems to have, is to take the Astro Boy route that so commonly is referenced. A robot with the mind and soul of a child, but the body of a weapon of mass destruction, has to take its toll on its psyche… if you even consider it to have one.

Let The Games Begin features Mega Man’s origin and first fight with the initial six Robot Masters. Later issues bring in the ‘bots from Megaman Powered Up. The external fight is for the kids and, honestly, those who just enjoy action. The internal fight, that of Mega Man straddling the road between unlikely hero and Death.exe, destroyer of robots.

End of Spoilers

This trade collects the first four issues of Mega Man. While it’s thankfully in a full-size format (unlike many digests that Archie produces, including some of the Sonic the Hedgehog collections), a minimal amount of extras (cover art gallery, character bios, and one page of sketches) and it’s higher price of $11.99 for four issues leaves a little bit to be desired. If the four issues are sold out for you, it’s worth the price of admittance; Mega Man looks to be one of the bigger sleeper hits of the comic book industry. Get past the concept that so many comic books based on video games are just simple cash-ins, look at the legacy that Flynn, Spaziante, and Archie have created with Sonic, and dive in headfirst into a book that can be enjoyed by both adults and kids.

Rating: 8/10