My picks for this week are:

Just Cause 2, Settlers 7, Red Steel 2

Just Cause 2 is the latest sandbox game with mindless carnage and over the top action and stunts. It will be released for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows on the 23rd March for America, while Europe and the rest of the world can join in the fun on the 26th March.

My View: Back in 2006, Just Cause was good fun for anyone who stuck at it and persevered through the sometimes boring side missions.  Bugs also plagued the original, and in some cases they were game killing bugs that you had no choice but to restart the game in order to get past.  To my knowledge Eidos have not yet released complete patches for either the PC or Xbox versions.  The sequel will hopefully right all the wrongs from the first one and give the gamer what they deserve.  The demo has been available for 2 weeks now and I would recommend trying that out before you purchase the full game. I enjoyed the demo but not enough to make this a day one purchase.

Settlers 7 is the latest in the long running Settlers series. It will be released on the PC on the 26th March and comes bundled with the controversial DRM from Ubisoft that requires constant internet connection.

My view: Settlers 2 remains one of my favourite strategy games ever and there is a faithful version for the iPhone on the Apple app store. On the surface it was a simple strategy game but you could micro manage it down to such a fine level of detail that you actually cared for your people on an individual basis. The series lost its way in my opinion when it made the shift to 3D and I really want to see Settlers 7 deliver on some of the fond memories of Settlers 2.

Red Steel 2 is the sequel to one of the first 3rd party games released on the Nintendo Wii. It’s a first person game which uses the MotionPlus, allowing the gamer to alternate between shooting and sword fighting. The game is released on the Nintendo Wii in America on the 23rd March and in Europe on the 26th.

My view: Red Steel for me should have been the game that converted many gamers to the Wii as it gave us the chance to wield a sword in our living room but the execution in-game just did not live up to the theory.   This time round, with the MotionPlus and cell shaded graphics, I’m expecting to enjoy this much more that the original.  I however will be waiting to read the Platform Nation review before making a buy or rent decision.

Other notable releases this week:

Cave Story (WiiWare)

Moto GP 09/10 (PS3, Xbox 360)

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

Rooms: The Main Building (Wii)

How to Train Your Dragon (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)

Bakugan: Battle Trainer (DS)

Cabela’s Monster Buck Hunter with Gun (Wii)

Imagine: Gymnast (DS)

Game Room (XBLA)

Wakeboarding HD (PSN)

Why not leave a comment below telling us which game(s) you’ll be picking up this week?

Game: Perfect Dark
Release Date: March 17, 2010
Genre: Shooter
Developer: 4J Studios
Available Platforms: Xbox 360
Players: 1-4 (2-8 Online)
MSRP: 800 MSP
Multiplayer: Versus
, Co-Op
Game Rating: M (Mature)
Website: http://www.4jstudios.com/

As you all know 4J Studios recently released Perfect Dark as an Xbox Live Arcade title. Most in not all of the graphical textures have been improved and rendered to HD quality, which allows you to play the game at 1080p. That’s not all the frame rate is now 60fps (frames per second), which not increases only the performance of the game, but also makes the overall appearance beautiful in stunning high definition in comparison to the N64 version.

The multiplayer aspect of the game works really well allowing you and several of your friends to play through the campaign cooperatively either locally (split screen) or via Xbox live.  When playing the campaign cooperatively (Co-Operative) the second player will take on the appearance of another completely different character, usually another female operative which is better than having an odd variation of Joanna Dark (the character you play as in the game). The Counter Co-Operative mode is slightly different and allows players to play as either an Agent or a Counter Agent. Both game modes can be played locally or via Xbox Live.

The Combat Simulator is also another great mode which can be played both locally and via Xbox live making this one of my favourite modes in the game. In this game mode you can choose from 16 unique arenas/maps and 6 different weapon load outs. Next we have Simulants these are  AI characters that move around the map with one objective in mind that is to kill you. These simulants come in a few different flavours, normal and special simulants. Normal simulant characters are broken down into three separate types, MeatSim, EasySim and NormalSim. These three are relatively easy to deal with and the NormalSim is the most difficult of the three and is apparently ‘as skilled as the average human player’.

Then we have the Special Simulants each with their own specialty and far too many to name or list they range from and PeaceSim  all the way to something called a VengeSim. The PeaceSim are weaponless and will hunt the level for weapons and ‘hoard them so that players cannot use them’. The VengeSims on the other hand are keen to get revenge on whoever kills them and you as the player are warned that if you kill one they (the VengeSim) will hunt down whoever killed it. Overall a very interesting game mode and I’m sure plenty of hours will be lost whilst playing it as many of the ‘Sims’ are not forces to be reckoned with.

This game has some truly unique multiplayer modes and Perfect Dark still manages to offer great entertainment many years on since its initial release on the N64. Although those textures look great from afar once you get up close they start to show their real age even with the updated graphics. With that aside this game is definitely worth the small price tag of 800 Microsoft points and is a must buy in my opinion, great game, great price.

Perfect Dark also features an excellent campaign for you to enjoy. To read the review please visit the link below.

Perfect Dark Singleplayer Review (XBLA)

]]> http://www.platformnation.com/2010/03/21/perfect-dark-multiplayer-review-xbla/feed/ 0 http://www.platformnation.com/2010/03/21/nintendo-ds-in-classrooms/ http://www.platformnation.com/2010/03/21/nintendo-ds-in-classrooms/#comments Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:10:59 +0000 Anne Kenny http://www.platformnation.com/?p=30409

Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, the company that started its humble beginnings selling playing cards in the late 1800’s, told the AP that his ambitions are leaning towards education.

“That is maybe the area where I am devoting myself most”

Nintendo’s latest effort to broaden their audience is a goal to utilize Nintendo DS systems as educational aids in classrooms around the world. Japan already has plans to roll out the systems in junior high and elementary classrooms during the 2010-2011 school year and in other places such as museums and galleries, the technology is already in use.

While Japan seems eager to accept to the idea of a gaming system as a learning device, there aren’t any plans of yet to bring this notion stateside.

Ohh Perfect Dark, how I have longed to play you since the days of the N64. Well now thanks to magic of technology I have the chance to relive some of the memories I had with the original. You could say Perfect Dark was one of the original FPS games that along with Goldeneye but If you haven’t played the original Perfect Dark, don’t worry because the story line and gameplay hasn’t been touched and remains the same. The only difference between the XBLA version and the N64 is the updated graphics and Xbox Live support. And let me tell you there beautiful, compared to the N64 version it just knocks it out of the park.

Obviously the main thing and the best thing about this re-launch of the original game is the graphics. In the original they were very pixelated, but that was understandable because the original was running on the N64. The new XBLA version has very polished graphics compared to the original. You can see a massive difference and it’s definitely on the same wave length when it come’s to graphics with most of the XBLA games out there. I wouldn’t go as far and say it’s amazing because there are better looking XBLA games out there; Toy Soldiers, but you can see the improvements made and it certainly makes the game more enjoyable. and is a pleasure on the eyes.

Game Review: Mega Man 10
Release: March 1st 2010
Genre: Platform, Action
Developer: Inti Creates, Capcom
Available Platforms: PlayStation Network, XBLA and WiiWare
Players: Single-player
MSRP:$10.00
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Website: http://megaman.capcom.com/10/

I have to say I had a TON of fun playing this game! Don’t get me wrong though, it wasn’t an easy breeze through type of game. One forgets how difficult older games can actually be. I won’t even tell you how many times I had to play the same section over again!

As always, Dr. Wily is up to something! He comes to you for aid when a mysterious robot virus, Roboenza, starts to infect all of the robots and causes them to malfunction. Dr. Wily claims he was in the middle of making a machine that could cure the disease, but one of the infected robots stole it. Now it is up to Mega Man to help retrieve the machine so they can get the cure.

You have three playable characters: Mega Man, Proto Man, and Bass (downloadable). You are able to choose which mode you want to play in, if you are a beginner you have the option of choosing easy mode. This will put platforms over spikes and decrease damage done to your character. If you’re wanting harder, you can also try out the Challenges mode, where you can practice your skills in 88 mini-stages, which typically require Mega Man to reach a goal or defeat an enemy. On a few of them you have to go unharmed, which is a feat in itself!

One of the things I liked most was the fact that you were able to shop in-between levels. It makes it much nicer than having to go in and out to get to shops, or wait to get items. I also love the ability to switch weapons during gameplay. If you need a better weapon to beat a specific boss, just switch out then switch back! Every round you obtain a new weapon, and it’s fun to be able to use all of them, try them out, see how they work and what they do.

 The graphics were fantastic! Mega Man in an 8-bit world is exactly where he belongs! There are no updates to the graphics, no reconstruction, and that makes it perfect! It did take a bit to get used to, of course there are no camera angels and that threw me off for the first few minutes. It was about then that I realized how spoiled technology makes us!

Music was old-style as well which I loved. You can’t help but to bounce around with the music while you’re playing. It was all very familiar, and some of the tunes sounded like music from other games, like the old Mario for example. I would have to say that made half of the game, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without it!

I can’t say there was anything I didn’t enjoy about the game. It was a nice break from all of the high-tech games that I’ve been playing lately, and on some levels even a bit more challenging. An example would be Final Fantasy XIII that I just did a review on. If a boss beats you, you can retry, right before that specific boss. In Mega Man, you have to go ALL the way back. It sounds frustrating at first, but it make it challenging and you end up playing it all day until you beat it!

I would recommend this to all Mega Man fans, and even people that have never played this type of game before.  I’ve had a great time playing it and could play it over and over again without getting tired of it.

When this email first came out, many people were speculating why some people were receiving the email, while others (such as yours truly) received no game. Some theories included that Nintendo was giving more to Internet Channel purchasers (which wasn’t the case; I bought it, but got no game), sent to people that haven’t bought any WiiWare/Virtual Console games, or to random people as somewhat of a social experiment to gain more publicity. However, it’s been nearly confirmed that Nintendo gave away these games to people that haven’t bought any downloadable titles for their Wii console in a while. While no certain time period is currently known, it most likely is for more than a year since buying a downloadable game. Nintendo is obviously trying to get the recipient’s attention, hoping that they will take a look at the rest of the downloadable catalog and bring in even more profit for themselves. Unfortunately for me, I bought Ace Attorney: Justice for All on WiiWare back in February, so I wasn’t eligible for this offer.

Still, I find it interesting that Nintendo’s willing to go on these somewhat extreme measures; giving away one of their most popular titles for Virtual Console to people that may or may not buy anything else from them. Nintendo are not known as being the biggest risk-takers, so I’m glad that they’re willing to do all of this. (I’d be much more glad if I was included, of course.)

Game Review: Metro 2033
Release: March 16 (NA) March 19 (EU)
Genre: Survival Horror/ Shooter
Developer: 4A Games
Available Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
Players: 1
MSRP: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M
Website: http://www.metro2033game.com/en

Metro 2033 represents what happens when foreign literature and western videogame conventions collide. To begin to describe it would be to spoil the review, but in introduction I must warn you ahead. Metro 2033 is a defining game, it is unique, more unique than any other shooter I have ever seen before. It borrows heavily, yet continuously reinvents and adds new layers of fine crispy first-person goodness. The flaws and finesse may be in perfect harmony, so much so that Metro remains a masterpiece. As you’ve probably heard from other reviews, the game has many, many flaws, but I will peel back this criticism and see whether the critiques are worthy.

Metro 2033 tells the story of a book of the same title, by Dmitry Glukhovsky, a tale set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, Russia. In actual real life fact, the metro stations in Moscow were built to contain human life in the event of a nuclear outbreak. You play as Artyom, a young man born in the station of ‘Exhibition’, tasked by your soldier idol to deliver a message in the event of his disappearance. Alongside Nazis and Communists, you must fight the ‘Dark Ones’, the next step in evolution. Other habitants of the new nuclear wonderland are also against you.

You will need to journey across the Metro to seek the cure to the problems that face you station, and all of humanity. Metro tells all of this story by letting you pace through the streets of stations, creep down Communist Metro tunnels, give bullets to the homeless and many other techniques. It’s a first-person shooter, quite a traditional one, with elements from Far Cry 2. The element here is immersion and atmosphere, with little HUD and more emphasis on getting to your destination than exploring the subway caves. It’s a linear title too, but one that uses linearity to its full capacity, linearity can never be a game’s downfall unless down wrongly.

Metro 2033 takes all the past ideals of modern day first-person shooters and runs into foreign land. The themes go hand in hand, atmosphere and immersion taking center-stage alongside a revealing story. At times, I was so enveloped into the ruins of a Metro system, that I forgot I was playing a videogame. This immersion is really on the level of Far Cry 2, and it’s only boosted by the further impacts the game shoves into your loving faces. The currency exchange is a new, interesting concept. Basically, you trade bullets, before the war. Homemade bullets are of poor quality, but pre-blast ammunition is scarce and valuable, making it the ideal currency. You can change your ammo types with a quick hold of the reload button, and it’s always clear what you’re blowing into faces. The faces you blow into a dynamic, and fit the aesthetics perfectly. The plot seems to go hand in hand with linearity, shoving you down a clear path and dancing with your mind. It ends on a very powerful note, albeit a cliffhanger, and the split endings aren’t a strict choice of ‘killing all humans’ and ’saving the world’, it’s a very grey ending. One that will probably be debated.

The only things that Metro doesn’t do well is the level of how it tries to fit videogame conventions into this world. Shooting is traditional, recoil makes guns fly, it takes ten homemade bullets to kill anyone compared to just 3 with the pre-war blast ammo. It ends up becoming annoying because headshots seem to function randomly. There’s a choice to go in stealthily, but it always ended in a bloodbath for me. No matter how well hidden I was, when I killed one guy, everyone just seemed to know where I was. One intense shootout in a guardpost led to me running around sucking up all the ammo and dodging the five shots that my character can absorb before dying. It’s not all candies and lollipops too with the aesthetics; facial animation and animation in general looks like plasticine, it is a new studio after all, some of the textures are very basic and sometimes it just has that ‘cheapness’ factor to it. Your viewpoint is Artyom, who speaks no words except in the interludes and to other people (where the whole conversation is blocked). I can see they wanted so much immersion they basically wanted to put the player in Metro, but it seems like a cop-out. It’s like playing Half-Life 2 and having Gordon speak, but only outside of what the player experiences.

Metro 2033 is one of the most visceral and surreal experiences, only let down by the near-ending level. I can’t beat Metro. The section near the end has respawning enemies, which hurt you when you kill them, and can hurt you if you don’t kill them. It’s a stupidly designed area that spoiled the game for me, and I had to watch the ending on Youtube.

Nevertheless, for every dark moment in the game there is a masterpiece of first-person gold. The hallucination sequences are very well done, on the level of Batman Arkham Asylum’s ‘Scarecrow’ levels, the destroyed vistas seen through cracks of your gas mask, as condensation creeps in just paints the palette of the world around you. For every bad voice actor, or early issues with dialogue, there’s a shining line or character which just makes it all the more better. This videogame isn’t meant to be played as a shooter, it’s just meant to be observed and experienced.

Nath’s final say: Metro 2033 stands on foreign soil, 4A games themselves are Ukrainian based, and it seems that the escapism is tuned to the max. The shooting doesn’t hold up that well, there’s some slight AI issues and some of the early plot expression comes across quite cheaply. In the end, I had fantastic fun with Metro 2033, I came out a whole lot better. This was a great, strong impression of what we can expect of such a small developer, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Alas, no. In fact, it not only has barely two bars of wi-fi in the rooms, it doesn’t even have an ethernet hookup. WHAT? NOT EVEN ETHERNET?? ARE YOU GONNA SEND THE CAVEMAN RIDING A STEAM ENGINE TO CLEAN MY ROOM WITH A BROOM??

Anyway, without internet we can’t do a show. So this week there will be no show.

On the plus side, that means the next time you hear from us will be from PAX East. Yay!

Lets hope you are not one of those people who put off everything until the last minute, because it is official PAX East is 100% sold out.  So if you haven’t bought your ticket you are out of luck, as there wont even be any tickects being sold at the door 100% sold out is 100% sold out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PAX EAST 2010 BADGES 100 PERCENT SOLD OUT

Tens of Thousands to Descend on Boston for Gaming Goodness

BOSTON – March 19, 2010 – Badges for PAX East 2010 are officially, 100 percent sold out. We all knew it was going to happen and it finally did.

The strong response from fans shows the strength of the gaming community on the East Coast.

PAX East has attracted gamers of all walks of life with a wild variety of attractions.  PC, console, tabletop and pen-and-paper fanatics will make new friends in the free-play areas, scavenge goodies in the expo floor and enjoy the legendary music concerts PAX is known (and loved) for.

For the latest PAX East schedule, please go to http://www.paxsite.com/paxeast/schedule.php

This being the first PAX East I think we all knew it would sell out, I personally thought it would have been a couple weeks ago when there was only Sunday passes left.  So if you didn’t get in on this PAX East there is always next year, but a word of advice next year buy your tickets early.